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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25496704">For Every King</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/DemonSaya/pseuds/DemonSaya'>DemonSaya</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Labyrinth (1986)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Romance</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 03:55:03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>57,094</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25496704</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/DemonSaya/pseuds/DemonSaya</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When the Labyrinth decides that it wants Sarah as its queen when she was still a tender girl of Fifteen, Jareth uses magic to lock the kingdom in time, to protect her and give her time to mature. But even his power isn't limitless, and now it's trying to cross the veil and bring the Underground to her.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jareth &amp; Sarah Williams</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>35</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Prologue</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Funny how a few simple words could turn someone's world upside down.  Six words to be precise.  Spoken in such an awed, inspired manner, through young, innocent lips.  That shocked expression as the syllables left her lips.</p><p>You have no power over me.</p><p>With those words, he had...lost.</p><p>The words still echoed through the room, through his mind.  He stood there for the second time that day, wondering what call had forcefully drawn him away from what'd he'd been doing before.  In truth, he hadn't even wanted to be there.  Yet, when he'd felt the pull, heard the words he'd longed to hear spoken to others, he couldn't resist.</p><p>He'd settled upon the tree outside her window, staring in on a party he was not invited to.  She celebrated her victory with both friend and enemy alike, laughing, embracing them.  He briefly entertained the idea that perhaps if he joined them he might be welcomed as they were, however, that notion vanished before it fully developed.</p><p>No.  She would not welcome him, would not embrace him.  She never smiled for him, she was always too overwhelmed, too frightened.  She was too young to even understand what he'd offered her.  So she would not welcome him.  Likely, she would be frightened, and as much as he resented her refusal, as much as he despised her for not filling that emptiness within him, he would not crash her victory party.</p><p>Instead, he watched her, making merriment with those from the Labyrinth, with the friends she'd made within the maze she'd conquered, her face alight with joy at being with her friends.  He'd remained there, watching her mock his loss with that lovely smile.  He should not have even been there.  He did not  want to be there, when she'd tossed him aside like an old toy.  She refused to see what he wanted to give her, refused to take the dreams she held dear, refused to believe in him-</p><p>No, that wasn't true.  Perhaps she didn't believe in him, but she believed in his existence.  Perhaps that was enough for the Labyrinth to give them all solid form.  The creatures on the outer edges were still mostly grounded in the Above and could have contact with the runners, though they usually decided not to.  Those who resided at the center of the Labyrinth were completely separated from the Above, and none more-so than the Goblin King.  He was a guide between the worlds, but he could not have physical contact with a mortal, save the children wished away in his care.</p><p>It had never bothered him before.  He mocked those who wished children away, seduced the women into forgetting their precious burdens, never touching them, not even on the off-chance they did well enough to earn a little dream care of a bespelled peach.  He didn't care that he couldn't touch them, they were just another mortal, another weak-willed mortal beneath his station.</p><p>The champion, however...</p><p>Never before had he longed to feel the texture of skin and hair.  In her dream, he played the usual game of cat and mouse, a dangerous, predatory game of hide and seek, drawing her farther into the spell with each step she'd taken.  Had he simply continued, he would have likely won the game, as well as the girl.  However, she turned and those brilliant green eyes looked upon him.  Her full lips were innocently parted.</p><p>Oh, she'd been lovely, in that sugar spun gown which was something out of one of her fairy stories.  He'd made her Cinderella, and suddenly, all he wanted to do was dance with her, touch her in the only way he might be able to.  He'd stepped forward, brought her against his body and felt her warmth for the first time.  Her eyes never left his, and he found himself as drawn into the spell as she.</p><p>He'd been shocked by the pain he'd felt when she'd pulled away, as though she'd physically pulled a part of him away with her, and in retrospect, he knew she had.  She'd taken his heart with her.</p><p>Her scent still lingered in the air of the Escher room, taunting him, reminding him of what he'd let slip through his fingers.</p><p>He'd tried to intimidate her here.  He'd walked through her, trying to making her understand, trying to make her see that it wasn't simply about the baby any longer.  For a moment, he thought he'd had her.  He thought she understood what he was trying to offer her.  The price was simply a screaming baby and she could have had her dreams, the world, everything, anything.  All she had to do was love him more than that child.</p><p>However, she did not understand, did not love him.  He'd seen, as she'd spoken those heart crushing words, tears filled her eyes and began falling down her face.  She'd cried.  He did not know why she had, but it was certain she was not crying any longer.</p><p>She did not see what she'd done.  Her words, words of power, had effectively banned him from her life.  Truly, he should have never been able to view her again, much less outside her own window.  Even his scrying crystals should have been ineffective.</p><p>Was it possible that her wording had done her in once again?</p><p>I need all of you.</p><p>Those words, had been enough to keep her tied to this world, to keep this world in existence.  Those words had been enough to allow him to look upon her through the window, even though he did not wish to watch the girl laugh and speak with her friends.  She didn't even seem to notice that there was one who should have been at the party who was not present and he did not intrude.</p><p>Which brought him back to why he stood in the Escher room right now.  He'd perched there for what felt like ages, watching the scene, when a pull from the Labyrinth herself drew him from the somewhat masochistic pleasure of watching her smile while knowing that she would never look upon him in such a manner.  That subtle tug told him there was something amiss in the Labyrinth, with the Labyrinth.</p><p>What he found upon returning caused a feeling of nostalgia to surge through him.</p><p>The Labyrinth was trying to leave the Underground – nay, bring the Underground – into the Above.  Specifically, it was trying to follow Sarah.</p><p>Jareth sighed, closing his eyes and shaking his head.  “No, I cannot allow you to do this.”  He felt a surge of annoyance from the largest child in his charge and frowned deeply.  “No, your place is here, just like mine.”</p><p>The vast maze seemed to stop a foot, causing the ground and sky to rumble.  He chuckled.  It was annoyed with him.  The feeling was mutual.  “While I understand the sentiment, you must not leave.  If you should try, you will destroy the very person you wish to reach.”</p><p>A picture flashed through his mind.  A lavish party, himself in his finest, Sarah in that sugar spun gown.  Except in this image, she was smiling, laughing up at him, her heart in her eyes.  His jaw clenched and he scoffed.  “Ah, yes, because that worked so well last time,” he shook his head.  “She does not understand.”  He would not admit to this wayward maze how much acknowledging that hurt him.</p><p>Impatience and annoyance from the ground beneath his feet.  He felt a tearing sensation within him and knew the Labyrinth was again trying to bridge the gap between this world and Sarah's.  “No, God damn you, are you trying to tear both worlds apart?!”</p><p>The Labyrinth was not chastened, not even repentant.  It continued trying to pull itself into the Above, trying to bring the whole of the Underground with it, trying to reach that woman who was still too young, too much a child still.  It would not listen to reason.  It had found it's mistress, and it was desperately striving for that delicate balance.</p><p>Until now, he'd always been able to maintain that balance, his powers, dark and light, but still more dark than light.  Unfortunately, having tasted powers with more light than dark, the Labyrinth was craving that power.  Every king need queen, it told him.</p><p>His eyes snapped wide as he realized what it wanted.  No, it was too soon, especially for that one.  He reached within himself, calling up his power.  Just within the Labyrinth, not the rest of the Underground, not the Above.  Not for her.  Just those who resided within it.  Those who returned to the Underground, to the walls within the Labyrinth, those who were part of it's magic, would be caught by the spell as well.</p><p>Even him.</p><p>One day, he knew the Labyrinth would snap it's leash and go bounding after the one it wished to be it's mistress.  For now, however, he could contain it.  He could not hold the magic forever.  He simply hoped that when the time came, the spoiled girl he knew would have given way to someone who could accept the consequences of her actions.  For when that day came, the Labyrinth would break free of this spell, of his control, and if she did not come to it, it would come to her and everything he held dear in either world would be utterly destroyed.</p><p>Jareth took a shuddering breath, and finally released his powers, stopping time within the kingdom he ruled.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter One</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Where am I?</p><p>Sarah blinked, turning to look behind her.  A vast maze stretched across the land and her breath caught in her throat.  The Labyrinth.  Her chest tightened as she stared down at the sum of all of her darkest and most wonderful dreams.  The location of her oldest friends.  The place where her childhood adventure had taken place.  His domain.</p><p>She'd always loved the place, with it's chaotic beauty, exotic creatures and, heaven help her, it's villainous king.</p><p>It would have been an awful lie to claim that she'd been completely unaffected by the words of the Goblin King during that final confrontation her last time here.  She'd have to be a fool to consider it more than a simple ruse to distract her for those last few seconds, but his words had nearly stolen her own from her lips.  She'd been fifteen, naive, and spellbound by the beauty of the man.  She would have been crazy to admit that her memory of him was front and center in a lot of her daydreams.</p><p>Usually they didn't involve the Labyrinth, though.</p><p>Lately, they didn't involve much more than – she blushed – a bed.</p><p>Sarah approached the great maze slowly, wondering why she was here in the first place.  She reached the entrance and felt a curious pulse in the ground under her feet.  To her shock, the door opened for her as thought it were welcoming her in.  Further more, when she stepped inside, a straight pathway opened from the door, stretching as far as the eye could see.  Somehow she knew it would lead her directly to the castle.</p><p>She began walking quickly down the path, her breath quickening.  Her heart pounded in anticipation.  She knew that something waited at the end of this path, something that had been waiting for her for a long time.  She just didn't know who or what.</p><p>The Labyrinth was oddly still, quiet.  It seemed to be missing the creatures which had been so abundant the last time.  She moved through cautiously, uncertain as to why she was here.</p><p>She reached the castle in what had to be record time and stood there, looking up at it, her face perplexed.  The Goblin City, also, was quiet, much as it had been before the guard was called out the last time.  Really, it was too quiet.  There should be some kind of movement.  It was almost as though the town were dead.</p><p>She shivered at the thought.  What on Earth and in the Underground had happened here?  She timidly pushed the castle door open and moved within.  Something was drawing her to that room, that place.  She found it easily enough.  She stepped through and hesitated.</p><p>The Escher room was especially daunting.  It was a maze of staircases within his Labyrinth.  The ground beneath her feet seemed to encourage her to continue moving.  She hesitated for a moment longer before moving forward.  She could remember standing here as though it had been only yesterday.  She reached the place she'd jumped and hesitated once again.  There was an impatient prodding beneath her feet and she swallowed hard.</p><p>That was new.</p><p>Taking a deep breath, she jumped, and fell.  When she touched down, she found herself looking at a very still figure.  He still wore those kingly garments of white, his hair still slightly silvered.  It looked longer as the wind periodically tugged upon it.  “Goblin King?”  She asked, feeling weak and a little frightened.</p><p>There was no response.</p><p>She swallowed hard, taking a moment to walk around him.  Her breath caught in her throat at the expression of intense frustration on his face.  She stared up at him for a long while, spellbound, as she always was when she saw him.  He was so beautiful.  Slowly, she reached up, touching his face, jumping at the feeling of electricity which raced down her fingers.  Her breathing grew ragged and she felt something beneath her feet pulse invitingly, heard wind that was almost a whisper.</p><p>Welcome home, Goblin Queen...</p><p>0o0o0o0o0o0o0</p><p>Sarah bolted upright, her breathing ragged, her hands shaking furiously, fisted tightly in her midnight blue cotton sheets.  She stared into the darkness of her room, trying to get herself under control.  Taking a steadying breath, she tried to remember what had freaked her out so bad.</p><p>Already the dream was fading.  She could remember the Labyrinth, and the feeling that she wasn't searching for anything, but instead was being prodded to a specific destination, for a specific purpose.  She couldn't for the life of her remember anything else, though.</p><p>Still, the dream brought her equal parts fear and hope.</p><p>With a sigh, she glanced towards her bedside clock, finding it was four thirty.  Too early to be up, but still too late to go back to bed.  Her alarm would go off in two hours, and yet she was wide awake.  Her blood still pulsed through her veins.  With a sigh, she decided to put the time to practical use.  She reached over, pulling the cord which hung from her lamp with a swift jerk, filling her room with light.  Briefly, she flinched, letting her eyes grow used to the light.</p><p>As she adjusted, she peered around her room, her eyes drifting over the bric-a-brac which had survived through her childhood and into her adult hood.  The gold music box sat in a curio with her single remaining Hoggle bookend and that figurine which she realized upon returning greatly resembled the goblin's king.  She had several faerie figurines in that curio, as well as a few goblins in various places around the house, which always gave the impression that they were watching over she and her brother.</p><p>Her bed was still narrow, with the same mattress she'd used as a girl.  She could feel a broken spring digging into her butt.  The cotton sheets weren't particularly fine, and there were places they were worn nearly through, but they were soft and comfortable.  Besides, things had been tight this year.</p><p>Toby, a fourteen year old boy now, had outgrown three pairs of shoes in as many months, and he was shooting up so fast, she'd had to buy him pants two sizes too long just so that she wouldn't have to keep doing with those as she did with his shoes.  He also had a voracious appetite, and now fully understood the jokes of teachers with teenage sons made about them eating them out of house and home.  She didn't have the faintest clue where it went because the boy was thin as a rail.</p><p>With a sigh, she got out of bed and walked over towards her closet.  A brief inspection and she pulled down a cream colored blouse with some lace edging and some black trouser pants.  The hem was coming loose on the trousers, and the buttons on the cuffs of her shirt had long since been used to replace the two missing buttons down her front, but she liked the pieces and couldn't bear to throw them away.</p><p>She pulled out a needle and thread, and sat down.</p><p>She'd always been the kind of person to wear her clothing until it practically disintegrated.  Lucky for her, she didn't have to go around wearing her clothing ridden with holes.  Her step mother, Karen, who she'd always viewed as a wicked person until her trek through the Labyrinth, turned out to be quite the handy person.  She actually taught Sarah some irreplaceable skills, such as how to sew a button, fix a hem on pants when the heal on a pair of shoes has ripped it, as well as how to cook a proper, nutritious meal with a hand full of tools and only half the ingredients.</p><p>Sarah sighed, grinning ruefully, hemming the pants quickly.  The skills had come in handy more often than she'd cared to admit.  While in college, she'd used those skills at cooking to feed herself with little if anything.  Since Toby had arrived, she'd sewn several of his favorite articles of clothing back together, alleviating cost as well as youthful temper tantrums.</p><p>Now, the boy was five foot ten, and his temper had taken on more angst than the six year old who used to get upset because his favorite Ninja Turtles shirt was torn.  Not long after she'd taken him in, he'd discovered girls did not in fact have cooties and she wound up sitting him down for a long overdue discussion that Karen had quite astutely dodged up until her time of death.</p><p>He'd grown into quite the bright-eyed youth, his blue eyes peering out from under sandy brown brows that slanted curiously upwards the older he got.  He kept his hair trimmed in a short, almost punk fashion, and he wore borderline-rock and roll style clothing, slightly fitted pants, and tight shirts.  As a result, he had quite the little following of groupies at school, although there was no one he spoke of as being someone he was really close to.</p><p>In fact, since school had started, he'd grown jaded, tired of being in a place where no one seemed to really understand him.  He rather reminded her of herself back when she was in school.  Alienated because she preferred fantasy stories to modern romances, because she read the Brother's Grimm instead of Harlequin Romance.</p><p>Her brother was very much the same.  Labeled a geek or nerd by other boys because he enjoyed playing guitar or reading and even drawing, to tackling other boys on a muddy field.  Girls, however, found him to be a 'romantic hero', following him around with bright, shining eyes, unaware that the boy had no interest because they didn't truly understand him.</p><p>With a heavy sigh, she set her pants, all fixed, on the bed and stood, stretching, wincing when her back popped at the motion.  She pulled down her dressing robe and pinned her hair up, heading towards the bathroom.  She shed her pajamas, folding them neatly on the toilet and then turned the water on, testing it with the back of her hand.  When it was hot, she turned on the shower and stepped in.</p><p>The water blasted at her back, and she moaned, bracing her hands against the wall of the shower.  She made a mental note to invest in a new spring mattress, or maybe one of those nice memory foam ones, come new year.  She knew she had bruises from where the springs dug into her back.  </p><p>She rolled her head back and stared up at the ceiling for a long moment, a frown beginning to tug down her lips.  Was she seeing things, now?  Why did it look like a faerie was hanging suspended in her shower?  She shook her head fiercely, and when she looked up, there was nothing.</p><p>She decided it was time to get out of the shower.  She turned off the water, grabbed her dressing robe and stepped out.  As she wandered into the kitchen, she found Toby already up and eating a bowl of cereal as he doodled into his sketch book.  “You're up awfully early, squirt.”</p><p>“I had a weird dream.”  He grumbled.  “I have really weird dreams two or three times a week.”</p><p>She frowned, faintly.  “Me too.  Any of them feature a bitch of a maze?”</p><p>“No.  No mazes.  Lots of Goblins though, and singing.”  He frowned faintly.  “They kept calling me prince and stuff.  Just weird.  I've been having it a few times a week.”</p><p>She frowned deeply.  “You're having goblin dreams?”  She stopped herself from saying more.  “You know what, I don't think I want to know more.  You should go get a shower before school.”</p><p>“Do I have to go?”  He grumbled, watching as she got coffee started.  “It's going to be the same crap today, and I don't fancy a swirly, if you get my drift-”  He stopped when she gave him a fierce look.  “Sarah, I was kidding, no one's given me a swirly in ages...”</p><p>Sarah took several deep breaths.  “Toby, that is not something you should joke about.  You remember what happened last time I found out about you being bullied?”</p><p>He grinned.  “You went down to the school and nearly gave those bullies a heart-attack.  Trust me, no one's looking at picking a fight with Toby Williams anymore.”  He accepted the cup of coffee she handed to him and dressed it with some non-dairy creamer and sugar.  “They're all too scared of you.”</p><p>A self-satisfied smile turned up the corners of her mouth and she ruffled his hair, earning a disgruntled grunt from him.  “Good.  They'd better stay that way.  If I can take down a overdressed-” and drop dead gorgeous, her mind supplied, “-Goblin King, I can take down any school bully known to man kind...”</p><p>He downed his coffee faster than made her comfortable and hopped up, setting the mug down.  “Same Bat time?”</p><p>“Same Bat channel.”  She agreed.  “You've got about an hour to get ready.  You should step it up a bit, kiddo.”</p><p>“Right-o, yer Highness.”  He dodged a sucker punch, grinning as he ran from the room.  Sarah scowled at his back as he left.</p><p>Toby did things like that now and again.  He was usually a sweet natured boy, but since puberty, since the troubles with his identity, he'd been surly, rude, and disrespectful.</p><p>In a word, he'd been a teenager.</p><p>She didn't mind too much.  It hadn't really been all that long since she'd been a teenager herself, and had looked up at the face of the Goblin King in disbelief, stating that it wasn't fair.  Truly, the hardest lesson she'd ever had to learn.</p><p>It chaffed a bit that even now, thirteen years later, she could remember him as clearly as the day following her adventure in the Underground.  Wild, silver-blond hair framing those feral facial features.  One blue eye, one brown.  Long aristocratic nose and high, angular cheekbones.  Features belonging to the arrogant king who had taught her several of the harder lessons in life.</p><p>Like Toby's recurring dream, she'd been having them two or three times a week as well, progressing a little farther each time.  She was desperate to know the purpose of these visions.  She knew they were visions because since that last moment in the Labyrinth, her ability to dream at night had died.  Only when something was going to happen did she have a dream.  The night before their parents died, she'd had a dream of them saying goodbye, kissing her cheek lightly.  Once or twice in the past years, she'd dreamed of being surrounded by darkness, unable to find her way home.</p><p>But lately, these Labyrinth dreams had been plaguing her.</p><p>Well, with the exception of the warning that she should not walk home after dark alone.  When she'd explained it to Toby, he'd nodded in agreement, and they'd begun walking home together ever since.  They'd wander down to the old park, act for about an hour, and then walk home, telling each other about their days.  They were close, but then, they were all the other had.</p><p>It was hard, raising Toby on her own.  Often, well meaning women told her he needed a firm male influence so that he'd turn into a productive man in society.  She kindly told these women that she was entirely too busy working and taking care of the boy to date their sons, nephews, or whoever else they were suggesting.  In all honesty, she had always had trouble forgetting a certain man who'd turned her world upside down when she was a youth.</p><p>He'd been her beautifully cruel, wonderfully villainous teacher.  Heaven help her, she'd fallen for him hard, had almost forgotten what she'd gone there to do in the first place.  He'd also essentially ruined her for every other man.</p><p>Not that she was going to tell the meddling old biddies in the apartment that.</p><p>She sighed softly, rubbing the back of her neck.  “No power over me, my ass...”  She mumbled ruefully.  She couldn't help the faint smile on her lips.  She put a hand to her brow and peered around, quoting one of her favorite books.  “'I was born to strange sights', that's for damn sure.”  She chuckled at the thought.</p><p>Something in her periphery caught her attention and she half-turned, finding herself staring at what she truly hoped was one of her goblin figurines.  Otherwise she was going crazy.  “Oh, Goblin King, Goblin King, wherever you may be-”</p><p>“Aren't I a little too old for you to be using the 'right words' on me?”</p><p>Sarah turned bright red, spinning to face her brother, who was wearing a tight blue t-shirt and faded blue jeans.  “Ah, those were never the right words, anyways...” she managed, then downed the rest of her coffee so she wouldn't say anything else stupid.  “Careful on the way to school.  Oh, and tell Mrs. Brewster I'm not going on a date with Jerry, I've got too much on my plate for a man who wants to be taken care of by a mommy.”</p><p>“Do you want me to relay that whole message, or was the ending just for my benefit?”</p><p>She scowled at him, then laughed, shaking her head.  “Get outta here, brat!”</p><p>“Yeah, yeah.  Oh, by the way, I peeked outside, and it looks like mom's working up a bitch of a storm for us.”</p><p>She paused, glancing towards him.  “Mom?”</p><p>“Yeah, you know,” he gestured around vaguely.  “Mother Nature?”  He dodged another sucker-punch, care of his sister, and headed towards the door.  “Don't forget, no walking home alone!  See you at four thirty!”</p><p>“Give 'em hell, Toby!”  She called as she heard her door slam shut.  She flinched, shaking her head.  He didn't have to slam it...</p><p>0o0o0o0o0o0o0</p><p>Sarah Williams was going crazy, she decided as she stepped off the bus and found herself face to face with an eerily still goblin.  Looks like it wasn't my imagination, she thought ruefully.  She had made that decision when she'd arrived at her office and found Hoggle standing at the great fountain in the lobby, taking an eternal piss.  Since then, she'd seen floating faeries, goblins who seemed to have frozen, mid-way through their activities, even Sir Didymus, standing on the brink of battle, yet the battle seemed to be as a picture.</p><p>It was as though she were viewing a world frozen in time.</p><p>Of course, it was possible that Jareth, the Goblin King, could have simply sped up her own time so fast that it would seem like the Underground was moving at a frighteningly slow pace.  She wasn't certain she'd put it past him to let her to see into the Underground, just so she'd question her sanity.  She was also reasonably certain the proud monarch would do this for no other reason than to simply make sure she was dead after she slighted him a child.</p><p>As if she hadn't made it perfectly clear that she had to have her brother back, multiple times.</p><p>Good grief, it wasn't like she wasn't tempted by that final offer.  She knew it had only been a trick, had only been him using her attraction to him to lure her from her goal, at least for those last few moments.  There was no way the Goblin King could have truly fallen in love with the girl.</p><p>For pete's sake, that wasn't even in the little red book, she'd made it up while she was telling Toby the story when he was a baby.</p><p>Yes, she'd dreamed of that kind of forbidden love ever since she was a girl, loving bad boys too much to fall for Prince Charming.  And heaven help her, the Goblin King was a lovely balance of Prince Charming's devastating good looks and the evil tyrant who oozes possessiveness, and seduction.  She was pretty certain that that particular man sweat it, like mortals do toxins from their skins.  What did they call it?  Pheromones?</p><p>She snorted at the idea, and sighed softly.  She'd been thinking of that man too much today.  Her heart was feeling a little bruised as a result-</p><p>She stopped abruptly, staring at a poster advertising David Bowie's newest concert tour and shook her head as those eerily similar facial features flicked back and forth between having long, dramatic glam-rocker hair and the longish, layered look Bowie was currently sporting.</p><p>Her heart stopped for half a second and she felt her blood rush to her face.  Okay, she was definitely going nutters.  Okay, so perhaps Bowie had a similar facial structure to the Goblin King, but they weren't the same person.  For gods sake, Bowie was married to Iman, the model.</p><p>Besides, Jareth was not allowed to come up here and turn her world upside down again.  It simply was against the rules.  Although...</p><p>She grinned ruefully, moving past the poster.  If Jareth decided to come down for a visit, she'd be more than willing to have a cup of coffee with him.  A faerie king was a far better option than a lot of the men from her realm.  Not that there weren't good men.  It was simply that they held either extreme.  They were either good or prick ass jerks.</p><p>She shuddered at the memory of being in college and having several of the later category attempt to feel her up at parties, only to be shocked and angry when her knee had a close, personal meeting with a vital portion of their anatomy.  She'd determined ages ago that she simply wasn't the kind of girl who just 'fooled around'.  When she had finally had sex the first time, she'd gone to a gay friend she trusted and laid out her situation to him.</p><p>He'd graciously consented to be her first time, although he wasn't happy about it.  It was merely a favor for a friend, and later she'd repaid that favor in spades, by being his editor for the man's erotic gay fiction.  She was a good editor, and he trusted her opinion the same way she'd trusted him.  Yes, Gary was probably the closest thing she'd ever had to a friend here.  He too, after all, understood how it felt to not be accepted as you were.</p><p>He was also the only person with the male genitalia, besides her brother, she trusted enough to sleep in the same room with, and not be scared that she'll wake up with him sweating on top of her.  Toby also liked Gary, although not in the way Gary often joked about Toby.  The sometimes blatant innuendos were often more than her delicate psyche could take.</p><p>Sarah paused again, seeing a clump of floating faeries hanging in mid-air.  She sighed, shaking her head fiercely, finding that she was standing at the entrance to Toby's school, which had always reminded her of the doors of Right and Wrong.  Yes, she was definitely losing her remaining marbles from the bag which spilled out long ago.</p><p>After all, no one else seemed to notice anything strange.  For example, her boss hadn't understood why she'd been having trouble concentrating on her work when there was a goblin who was swilling ale on top of her computer.  She massaged her temples.  “Stupid ability to see strange sights.  Why the hell am I seeing into the faerie realm, and if I find out that it's your fault, I'm going to soak you in the Bog of Stench, chop you into bits, boil you down and feed you to your goblins.”</p><p>“Sarah, are you talking to yourself?”</p><p>She looked up, finding Toby walking towards her, although he wasn't looking at her.  His eyes were on something behind her right shoulder, at about head height.  She glanced back and found that this time the faeries hadn't disappeared.</p><p>“I'm freaking hallucinating.  Stupid goblin dreams.”</p><p>“Must have been the coffee, then, because I saw them too.”  She admitted, glancing at the mean tempered little 'bugs' which was floating five feet off the ground.  “Looks like you're born to strange sights, too.”  She saw him smirk and chuckled.</p><p>“Quoting Dianne Wynn Jones again?”</p><p>“I would clean Howl's pigsty castle for an opportunity to spend the rest of my life with a romantic jerk.”  She said, grinning when Toby gave her a queer kind of look.</p><p>“You want a...romantic jerk?  Where do you think you'll find one?”</p><p>She laughed out right.  “Why on earth do you think I'm still single?”</p><p>He frowned, even as they began walking.  “Well, you always say 'my plate's too full', or 'I don't have time for men right now'.  I guess I always took that at face value.”</p><p>She sighed softly.  “Remember that story I told you ages ago?  About the Goblin King?”  She watched him nod uneasily.  “Suffice to say his villainous ways ruined me for about ninety percent of men on the planet.  And he never even set a hand on me.”  Not physically anyways...she felt a faint smile tugging on the corners of her lips as she remembered a certain ball where her villain proved that he was equal parts flirtatious and charming.</p><p>“Wait, you've got the hots for the Goblin King?”  Toby asked, his face incredulous.</p><p>She flushed, looking back at her brother.  “He's...my ideal, I suppose.  He was dark and seductive, but remarkably charming and...polite.  Even if he could make 'would you like fries with that' sound like a come on.”</p><p>Her brother snickered.  “Surely you're exaggerating.  Come on, Sare, what is it, thirteen years of fantasy and pent up sexual frustration?  There's no way a man can make something like that sound sexual.”</p><p>She gave him an amused look.  “You might find yourself surprised.”  That, of course, spurred a friendly argument, while they tried to ignore the impossible things they were seeing.  The pair meandered on their way home, as they always did, arriving at the park where they always play-acted.  Toby began reciting a play their school was currently working on, a play she knew he was likely to get the lead role for, if for no other reason, because he was best suited for the role of hero more than villain.  As they moved through the parts, she acted opposite him, remembering the play from when she was in school.</p><p>The park was like a mixing ground of magic, a place that had always held that spark of magic, mystique that she needed.  She came here to laugh, to cry, to play.  She came here for everything except-</p><p>Sarah finished her line and was interrupted by applause.  She whirled, finding a man approaching.  He was attractive, she knew that as soon as she set eyes upon him.  He had a lean build, fair hair but tanned skin.  His eyes were sharp and bright hazel brown.  Those eyes unnerved her.  She firmed her spine, wondering who this was who'd just caught she and her brother play-acting.</p><p>“That was fantastic.”  The man approached her, eyes twinkling, but she wasn't certain if it was merriment or malevolence in his gaze.  “I don't mean to interrupt, I simply could not help myself.  It's not often I'm treated to a show in this very park-”</p><p>“Back off.”  Toby snapped, moving in front of her, ever her little (though not short) hero.</p><p>The man's eyes darkened slightly.  “I was simply making conversation-”</p><p>“Make it somewhere else.”</p><p>Sarah gently rested a hand upon her brother's shoulder.  “You're being rude, young man.”  She said quietly.  She didn't have to speak with force or anger.  Her brother relaxed faintly, but didn't move from before her.  She lifted her gaze.  She examined the man for a moment longer, relieved to find herself disenchanted almost immediately.  This was always the case with mortal men.  She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, her eyes caught sight of something that simply wasn't possible.</p><p>Toby glared at the man fiercely, then glanced back at his sister, to find her wearing a dumbstruck expression on her face.  “Look, guy, I don't know who you are, but you need to go.”  He turned towards his sister, blocking her view.  “Sarah, we should go home-”</p><p>She swallowed hard, and nodded.  “You're right, baby...”  She felt a shiver work through her, glancing over her brother's shoulder, finding the thing which had startled her so...was still there...</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter Two</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sarah pondered what she'd just seen all the way home.  It simply wasn't possible.  She must have been thinking about the Labyrinth and it's creatures far too much today, because now she was seeing the entrance.  She was hallucinating, that was it.  These things didn't have physical form, it simply wasn't possible-</p><p>“Sarah, you look like you've seen a ghost.”  Toby's helpful comment was punctuated when he pushed a cup of coffee into her hand.</p><p>She sipped it, pondering the cup for a long minute.  “Toby, you do...believe me, right?  About the Labyrinth.  You don't think I'm just nut-job, right?”  She looked up at him, uncertain.  She saw a baffled expression on his face and looked down into the mug before taking a long swill of the much-needed caffeine.  “Sometimes, I think I am crazy.  Toby, I've been seeing things all day.  Things that I shouldn't see here.”</p><p>“Was that what freaked you out when Romeo was trying to put the moves on you in the park?”</p><p>She nodded uncertainly.  “Oh, god, Toby, I saw the doors.  The entrance.  It shouldn't have been there, it shouldn't have even been possible for me to see them.  I don't know why, I don't know how, but I saw them.  I saw Hoggle taking a piss in the marble fountain at work.  There was a goblin drinking ale on my computer.”  She thrust a hand into her hair, taking an unsteady breath.  “Faeries hanging in little clouds everywhere.  For god's sake, I saw David Bowie's face on a poster turn into the Goblin King.”  She was rewarded for that last comment when Toby's own coffee came flying from his mouth and all over the kitchen window.</p><p>“What?!”</p><p>She just waved it off.  “And it's not just out there, it's in here.  In the house, too.  I feel like I'm going completely crazy, but I know I'm not.  I don't hallucinate normally.  My imagination isn't that great.  I might imagine, but I don't hallucinate.  And worse...I think I've been seeing these things for ages, but...until now, there was a filter over my eyes.  Like you see something in your peripheral vision, but when you turn to get a better look, it's gone.”  She groaned in frustration, dropping her head to the counter top.</p><p>“Well,” her brother began slowly.  “I've always thought you were nuts, but not because you might see things.  It's just kinda part of who you are.  It always has been.  Besides, considering you think the Goblin King is your ideal man, that pretty much shovels a whole lotta crazy off on you.”</p><p>She glared at him, batting at his arm weakly.  She sat up, sighing heavily.  “I don't know what I'm supposed to do, Toby.  It's like that stupid thing is calling me.  It feels like it's been calling me for awhile, almost like an echo...”</p><p>“Maybe it has been.”</p><p>She looked up at him abruptly, startled at the thought.  “What?”</p><p>“Well, think about it.  Thirteen years ago, a fifteen year old girl bested the Goblin King at his own game, solved the Labyrinth, and rescued her baby brother.  I mean, did you really think it was over after you said 'you have no power over me'?”  Toby scoffed.  “Really, Sare.  I'm surprised it waited this long.”</p><p>She felt a shiver work through her and she looked into her coffee again.  With a shuddering breath, she lifted the mug, draining it.  “I have to go, Toby.”</p><p>“It's late and dark outside,” he sounded cross.</p><p>“Yes, it is,” she agreed.  “But I think I have to go now.  I'm not sure this is a story that we can simply put the conclusion off until another day.”  Her brow creased and she rested a hand over her heart.  “Something is calling me from that big pile of bricks, and I have to answer that call.  Wherever it takes me.”</p><p>She saw the shudder work it's way through her brother and reached out, taking his hand gently between her own.  “Toby, if there's a breath left in me, you know I'll be back.  I'm not going to leave you to the system.  You're my brother, and I fought for you once.”  She kissed his forehead lightly, relieved when he cringed at the motion.  “Don't worry.  I'll be back before you know it.</p><p>He lowered his gaze.  “Take stuff with you, just in case.  I don't want you stranded without food.  The whole 'Persephone canon' and stuff.”  She smiled ruefully, not bothering to tell him that it was a little late for that particular warning.  She'd never told him about the hallucination-inducing peach, had never told him about that hour or so she'd spent in the arms of the Goblin King.</p><p>She reached over, gently patting his hand.  “Want to help me pack a bag?”  He glumly nodded, and set about making her a few peanut butter sandwiches, while she went to her room and dug out a change of underwear and considered changing.  There was no point.  She wasn't looking to impress anyone.  Her work clothes were fine.  Glancing in the mirror, she pondered her short hair and realized she was on the verge of primping for a man she hadn't seen hide nor hair of in thirteen long years.</p><p>She huffed, annoyed with herself, grabbing a book, just in case she got bored and decided a break was in order.  She stuffed that and her underwear into her small back pack.  She came out and found her brother had made a stack of sandwiches, had a one liter bottle of water, and another bottle of Gatorade on the counter, and he was putting cookies into a zippy bag.  She smiled faintly.  “It's not a picnic, you know?”</p><p>He blinked, looked at the stack of food and looked uncomfortable.  “I'm probably going to cook while you're gone, just so you know.”</p><p>Which was his way of saying that he wasn't happy with this, and was nervous.</p><p>She put the food into her bag, then leaned over, pressing a kiss to her brother's forehead.  “If I'm not back by morning, send the cavalry.”  She joked, but she saw a haunted look in his eyes.  She closed her eyes, hugging him tightly.  “I'll be back.  I promise, Toby.  I'm not going to see mom and dad just yet.”</p><p>He nodded, his body tense.  “You'll take the skull crusher, right?”</p><p>She opened the kitchen counter, pulling out the giant mag-lite and slipped the end into the drink holder on the backpack.  “And spare batteries.”  She felt him watching her as she packed them.  “As soon as I find out why the Underground is superimposing itself over our lives, I'll be back.”  She promised again, then headed towards the door.</p><p>“Sarah-” he called, stopping before he finished.</p><p>She turned back and found him standing in the kitchen, his hands in tight fists.  Her eyes softened and she almost considered asking him to come with her.  No, that was a risk she couldn't take with him.  For all she knew this was a plot of the Goblin King to get him again.  “Yes, Toby?”</p><p>“Be...Be careful, alright?  You're all I have left.”</p><p>She knew how hard that was for him to say and gave him a small smile.  “No one there has any power over me.  And I can be pretty intimidating when I want.  Don't worry about a thing.  I'll be back soon.”  She turned before she could reconsider her actions and walked out the door.</p><p>She headed down the street, noting the little glowing patches along the street weren't just from street lights.  It appeared that the faerie clouds had multiplied since the walk home.  Either that, or the 'film' had completely dissolved from her eyes.</p><p>There was an odd sense of foreboding, but it had little to do with the possibility of danger.  It had more to do with how oddly still everything seemed.  She had a strange feeling that her life was about to be turned end over end once again.  The sun had fully set almost an hour ago and she shivered, pretending it was simply from the cool air.</p><p>It was disconcerting how empty the streets were.  Granted, she didn't live on a particularly busy street, but it gave the illusion that she was alone in the world.  Upon reaching the park, she received an even more unwelcome surprise than the doors of the Labyrinth.  The ground had changed.  She stood at the edge of the pavement, where it once turned into grass and found herself looking at hard, red clay dirt.  The earth she remembered from the Underground.</p><p>Craggy trees grew everywhere in the park.  Everything seemed coated in a heavy layer of glitter and oddly, dust.  Everything was so still and even the air felt stagnant.</p><p>“Okay, you over-grown lump of stone, what do you want with me,” she whispered.  She took an unsteady breath and glanced behind her.  The street still stretched out behind her, but the air was heavy, thick with anticipation.  A sigh escaped her and she closed her eyes.  “I promise I'll be back.”</p><p>Then, she stepped across the line which seemed to separate her world from the Underground.  In that step, everything seemed to shift beneath her.  She reached out, setting her hand on one of the craggy trees, and when she opened her eyes, the world that stretched out around her was reddish orange and covered in glitter.  To her surprise, she felt the faintest smile turn up her lips.  It felt as though the world was welcoming her.  She stepped forward, having overcome the sense of vertigo.</p><p>The path leading to the entrance of the Labyrinth was familiar.  She wandered down it, taking the time to observe the area.  Last time, she'd been on a time constraint, and hadn't been paying much attention to the sights, the-</p><p>A shiver worked through her.  It was quiet.  Really, too quiet.  There should be some kind of sounds.  Yet, there was nothing.  She swallowed hard, and jumped when the ground beneath her feet pulsed slightly.  The sensation was eerily familiar.  She stumbled, falling flat onto her behind.  She rested her hands on the ground, feeling that same pulse in her palms.  To her shock, foreign sensations began coursing through her body.</p><p>Welcome.</p><p>She snatched her hands back and her breath rushed out of her as she held them over her heart, feeling the muscle working harder from her fear.  “Holy hell...”  She whispered.</p><p>To saying it was an unnerving sensation would be an understatement at best.</p><p>She shivered, rubbing her arms.  “Look, uh...”  Yup, she was officially crazy.  She was about to talk to a large pile of stone.  “I can appreciate that you're glad I'm here...not that I know why...but could you tone down the whole...pulsing thing?  It's...kinda odd.”</p><p>There was an answering nudge, and she felt as though it were prodding her to continue.  She swallowed hard and took a deep breath, walking forward.  She hesitated for a moment when she saw her old friend standing at the little fountain, taking a leak.  Her lips spread into a smile and she moved towards the dwarf, stopping when she noticed how still he was.  “Hoggle?”  She moved around him, and her heart lodged in her throat.</p><p>He wasn't moving.  At all.  The pee arched in a stream, but it stopped just short of hitting the water.  She covered her mouth, backing away.  Quite suddenly, her dream returned to her.  Her knees weakened and she looked away from her still friend, her heart aching.  What happened, she wondered.</p><p>To her shock, a picture filled her mind.  The Goblin King, a look of intense frustration on his face.  A crystal in his hand, radiating power.  She shivered, biting her lip.  “Uh, and ow.”  She took a deep breath, and rubbed her temple.  She closed her eyes, taking a long moment to collect herself.  She got control over her rampant thoughts, suddenly uncertain if they were hers or the mazes.</p><p>She turned towards the entrance, finding it already standing open, as though inviting her into it's embrace once again.  She shivered.  That odd glitter and the lichen which covered the walls of the stone Goliath seemed darker, different.</p><p>Another queer little shiver worked through her back and she hugged herself.  “Alright, Labyrinth, now what?”</p><p>That pulse beneath her feet seemed to urge her forward and swallowing hard, she moved towards those large, open doors, feeling frightened and uncertain.  She looked left and right, and instinctively moved in the direction she'd walked last time.  She moved in, resting her hand lightly against the stone, startled when it pulsed there, too.  She jerked her hand back and took a steadying breath.</p><p>A glance at her palm found it covered in dust.  “For heaven's sake, how long has it been since there was a runner?”</p><p>Another picture, with less force than the first, of Sarah's fifteen year old self entering the Labyrinth.  There were little flashes from her journey, even a glimmer of her being swept around the ballroom by the Goblin King.  Her throat closed as a pang of upset came from the stones beneath her feet.  She gave a weak smile.  “You and I have to have a little talk sometime, Labyrinth.”  She murmured.  “I'm sure you could let me see things that I didn't know of from my little trip through...”</p><p>She could almost sense amusement from the stones beneath her feet.  She gave a faint, weak grin in return and paused when she saw a little bit of blue fluff.  Her eyes brightened.  “Ah, Mr. Worm-”</p><p>She stopped when she realized the small creature was mid-sweep, cleaning the entry-way to his home, and...not moving.  She frowned faintly, sighing and reaching forward, poking him lightly.  He didn't make a movement, nor did he speak.  “So...I guess this means it's going to be a quiet trip this time?  No cleaners chasing me down the random tunnel?”</p><p>A irritated pulse beneath her feet and she sighed softly, turning towards the wall which held the door.  She moved forward slowly, and moved to turn right, but stopped when she realized she was looking at a very real door.  She frowned faintly.  “O...kay?”</p><p>Another pulse and she turned around, the way she'd not gone last time.  She took a deep breath.  “I shall be telling this with a sigh, somewhere ages and ages hence:  two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference,” she murmured.  She sensed confusion from the maze which would evidentially be her only traveling companion and gave a slight smile.  “It's part of a poem.”  She said quietly.</p><p>Another picture popped into her head of the Goblin King reciting from a book, and could almost feel a question behind it.  She blinked at the image, startled.  “Y-yes, poems are sometimes kept in books.”  She stared down that path for a long time, and finally forced herself to move forward.</p><p>It was eerily familiar, walking this path.  She couldn't remember ever walking it before, however.  She could scarcely remember most of the details regarding her recent dreams, save that they were about the Labyrinth, and so she decided that this was probably the path taken in those dreams.  She was slowly growing used to the pulse beneath her feet, the walls springing up unexpectedly, guiding her unerringly till she reached the gates to the Goblin City.</p><p>To her shock, the humongous still was separate from the wall, broken as it had been when Hoggle had aided in it's defeat.  The doors behind it still stood open.  She took an unsteady breath, walking forward past the hulking metal monstrosity and into the Goblin City.</p><p>The pulse beneath her feet grew more excited, more edgy, as she moved forward.  It was a truly surreal and rather eerie scene.  Goblins frozen in mid-run, hair grown long and wispy around their heads.  Several overseeing cleaning up around the town.  “How long has it been...like this?”  She wasn't even sure what this was, so she was certain she didn't know what to call it.</p><p>An answering pulse beneath her feet.  A long time.</p><p>She walked past goblins and other creatures, passing Sir Didymus, who'd obviously been overseeing the whole thing when whatever had transpired stopped the movement and lives of the creatures within the Labyrinth.  Sarah shivered faintly, and took the path, walking slowly to the castle, half-way expecting the entire town to come alive all at once.</p><p>She passed an area which was obviously where wounded goblins were being treated and wished she'd remembered her first aide kit.  She could have treated these thirteen year old, dust-filled wounds.  She took a deep breath and walked up the castle stairs, finding this doorway open as well.  </p><p>The castle was mostly devoid of Goblins, as it had been before.  Now that she wasn't under a time constraint, she looked around, finding a vulture stuck in a strange crown on the wall.  “Huh...”  She glanced towards his strange, rather uncomfortable looking throne and wondered if she ought to not take a break.  No point in playing Goldilocks when there was obviously something very wrong here.</p><p>There was a loud growling protestation from her stomach and she glanced at her watch.  It was nearly one in the morning.  That explained why she was so weary.  She could just sit down for a-</p><p>No.  Somehow, she knew that wasn't her talking.  She was tired, yes, she'd woken up early that morning, from a dream about this over-grown pile of rocks, and now she'd traversed it in four hours.  She suspected that had more to do with the Labyrinth putting her on the shortest path possible than her own maze-solving ability.  For all she knew, this tired sensation was all a part of this spell wrapped around the castle and surrounding land, and she'd be damned if she fell for it like some novice.</p><p>With a sigh, she pulled out the Gatorade and took a long drink, then pulled out one of the peanut butter sandwiches her brother had whipped up.  She sat on the stone step, and nibbled on the sandwich, soothing the ache in her stomach.  The ground pulsed impatiently beneath her feet, but she ignored it for a moment.  Instead, she took the moment to rest, eat, and hopefully recover some of her strength.  She had a feeling she was going to need it sooner, rather than later.</p><p>Washing the last bite down with her orange sports beverage, she stood, and slipped it back into her bag and sighed heavily.  “Am I going to have to go through that stupid Escher room again?”  She asked quietly.  There was amusement tinged with impatience from beneath her feet.  “Yeah, I know you've been waiting for someone to wake everyone up.  I just hope this isn't some kind of 'Sleeping Beauty' tale, because I'm the wrong gender to kiss a princess and wake her up.”</p><p>A picture of the Goblin King and she kissing filled her head, courtesy of the Labyrinth and she felt her face become darkly flushed.  “Ah...no, I don't think so.”  She felt a despondent response even as she moved forward.  “Don't pout.”  She said with a grin.  “I simply don't think your king will want me to put a lip lock on him while he's defenseless.”</p><p>She got the vague impression that the maze was nodding emphatically and couldn't help but chuckle.  “Pushy thing, aren't you...”  She followed the prodding and found a door on the lower level which let into the broken portion of the Escher room.</p><p>She looked around at the ever-dusk view, noting that it seemed like she'd stepped into an entirely different dimension.  Pieces of rock floated in mid-air, unmoving, unlike her last time here.  It was surreal, standing here once again.  She turned and found herself staring at a man's back.  Her heart throbbed painfully in her chest and she clutched the white shirt, which she noticed was damp from her sweat.  A glance down made her blush and she wished she'd worn a different color.  Something that wouldn't turn sheer when wet.</p><p>There was a curious pulse from beneath her feet and she huffed softly.  “It's...nothing.”  She told the maze, her chest still feeling tight.  She stared at that back for a long time.  She couldn't really bring herself to speak to him, because she knew he would be like the other occupants of the Labyrinth.  Unmoving, trapped a moment in time that was long ago.  She also couldn't bring herself to walk around him to look at his face.</p><p>He was dressed in that same lovely feathered cloak.  The garments had made him look like a romantic hero, the opposite of the regalia he'd worn during their first encounter.  This man who stood front and center of so many fantasies was a walking contradiction.</p><p>He'd shown her that he could be romantic, even if it was merely a distraction.  He'd shown himself to be seducer, villain, his cunning intelligence meeting her own every step of the way.  The man who'd spoiled her for all Above-dwelling men.  A handful of encounters, few words spoken between them, one dreamed dance, and...</p><p>She shivered, hugging herself, but she couldn't pull her eyes away from the man she stared at.</p><p>His hair had grown long, the silvery blond strands mixing with his cloak, barely distinguishable.  She could see that strange crystal in his hand, and felt the urge to reach forward and take it from him.  She restrained herself, trying to ignore the impatient pulse beneath her feet.  “I know, I know!”  She whispered fiercely.  “Just give me a moment...”</p><p>She took a shuddering breath, lost in memories from thirteen years ago.  Her hands fisted to fight against the urge to reach out and touch him.  Her worst nightmare and greatest fantasy stood before her and all she could do was hesitate.  She closed her eyes, remembering him in that blue velvet jacket with diamante on the shoulders, the gray watered silk cravat, those sinfully tight breeches which left painfully little to her overactive imagination.  She remembered his crooning voice, the song he sang to her.</p><p>Would he be angry with her for being here?  Would he welcome her?  She shivered once again, chafing her arms with her hands.  She was frightened, there was no use denying it.  Of all the ways she'd fantasized about meeting the Goblin King once again, this was never it.  Usually it involved him poofing into her room and showering her with glitter before quite literally taking her on her small, squeaky twin bed.  Or even kidnapping her and holding her prisoner as his-</p><p>Whoa Nelly.  She blushed at the memory of that particular fantasy and realized she really needed to keep her head about her at this point.  He may well hate her, but the Labyrinth had brought her here.  It wanted her to break this spell.  She could take everything after that in stride.  “For my will is as strong as yours...and my kingdom as great...”  She lifted her gaze slowly, looking at the man's back for a long moment.</p><p>“It's time to wake up, Jareth.”</p><p>In that moment, time seemed to move forward once again.  She watched the crystal in his hand crack and shatter into a fine mist and there was a pulse of excitement beneath her feet.  The world seemed to shake as suddenly everyone who'd been frozen in time began moving all at once.  The man before her began to turn slowly towards her and she held her breath, once again uncertain, frightened.  Please don't strike me down for standing here, she mentally begged.  I know I was cruel, but I have to think about Toby...</p><p>When he faced her fully, she found herself drinking in his appearance.  Oh, she'd missed him.  And at least this gave a reason why she'd not seen him or her friends in thirteen long years.  She only just managed to keep her knees from shaking as she stared up into his beautiful, ethereal face.  He hadn't changed at all.  High sculpted cheekbones, long, aristocratic nose, those mis-matched eyes.  He was so beautiful.</p><p>He was also staring at her like she was a complete stranger.  Her heart twisted in pain and she swallowed hard, trying not to let the man before her see that she was hurting.  Then he opened his mouth and she heard his voice for the first time in a very long time.  “Who dares speak the name of the Goblin King?”  She swallowed hard, and brushed her hair behind her ear, uncertain how to answer this man.  She lifted her eyes again and stared up at him, feeling heart-bruised, but she'd be damned if she ever told him.</p><p>The Labyrinth pulsed beneath her feet in irritation, sending her a picture of her kissing him and she scoffed mentally.  No, I don't think so.</p><p>0o0o0o0o0o0o0</p><p>(AN:  This was originally part of ch. 3, I added it here for now, but it may eventually find it's way home.)</p><p>“It's time to wake up, Jareth.”</p><p>His name had been spoken.  It was a physical sensation, almost painful, as time began moving forward once again.  He felt the crystal in his grasp crack and burst like a bubble.  The spell had been broken.  He pondered this for a moment, sensing someone standing behind him, obviously the person who'd spoken.  Only one person held the key for breaking this spell.  He turned slowly, uncertain what he would find facing him.</p><p>What he found was a woman in her prime standing before him, her hands twisting the tales of her button down white shirt.  The shirt was damp, mostly sheer, likely from sweat.  Her short, dark hair clung to her skin due to the dampness.  Gray, straight-legged trousers covered her legs, dusty and dingy, also damp.  Her face was achingly familiar, but he could not identify whom he was staring at.  Yet, those eyes were haunted, haunting.  Green eyes, eyes like her eyes.</p><p>He did not know this woman, yet she bore an eerie resemblance to that girl.  One word spoken by her had shattered the spell he cast, yet he didn't feel the Labyrinth trying to merge the worlds once again.  He took a moment to collect himself before speaking.  “Who dares speak the name of the Goblin King?”  His voice was hoarse from disuse, but the woman's eyes glazed slightly and he found he didn't care.</p><p>The woman moved to step closer, her hand looking as though she intended to reach towards him, but changed her mind, her hands fisting as she drew back.  A half-smile turned up her lips.  “Ah...I suppose I look a bit different.”  She seemed self-conscious, her hand giving the barest tremble as she swept a sweat soaked strand of hair behind her ear.  She seemed to be trying to decide what she should say.  Her eyes briefly met his before they dropped again, staring at her hands, which were tangling together as though she were nervous.  “I...I should go,” she said after a moment, backing away a step.  “You probably don't want me here...”</p><p>There was a very vocal response from the stones beneath his feet.  It rumbled in annoyance, as if to tell him he was being stupid.  Amusement flickered briefly through him and he examined the woman before him more closely.  Shiny, dark brown hair, cut short.  He didn't mind short hair on women, but on this woman it seemed...wrong.  His eyes unfocused briefly and he imagined her with longer hair.  Shapely figure beneath rather unflattering mens clothing.  Finally, those eyes – those eyes.  Green eyes looking at him with uncertainty.</p><p>This coupled with the spell breaking could only mean one thing and it came upon him quite suddenly.  His heart lodged into his throat and he found it suddenly very difficult to speak.  She'd grown into a lovely woman.  She'd been innocently lovely as a child, and yet...he found himself captivated by her all over again.  Her name rose and fell from his lips.  “Sarah Williams...”  He hoped she would think his voice was raw from lack of use, rather than the equally raw emotions welling inside him.</p><p>Those brilliant green eyes rose to his own, as though they were searching for something.  After a moment, her back straightened and her hands dropped to her sides.  “Yes,” she acknowledged.  Oh, she had grown into a strong woman.  There wasn't even the faintest trace of the fifteen year old child he remembered so well.  Left in her place was a defiant woman with glittering green eyes, short, almost sassy brown hair, and enchanting freckles which swept down into the cleavage of her blouse.</p><p>He stepped towards her, feeling oddly pleased and yet disappointed when she did not back away from him.  To his delight, she did avert her gaze from his own.  Again she spoke.  “I was walking home with Toby and I saw the Labyrinth's entrance in the park.”  Her gaze flicked up to his, eyes going wide when she realized how close she stood.  She sucked in a sharp breath, but to her credit did not back away.  “Why was it there?”</p><p>He was surprised she managed to keep her voice steady.  He inclined his head, looking down at her, drinking in her appearance.  “Why do you think,” he inquired quietly.  “It was attempting to follow it's new master.”</p><p>Her eyes snapped wide and her jaw gaped.  It was a rewarding expression to say the least.  “New...?”  She paused, turning and pacing away from him, obviously deep in thought.  When she turned back to him, she walked up until she was standing nearly chest-to-chest with him.  He caught the faintest whiff of her perfume, which was lilies.  He focused when she looked up at him.  He could tell from the look in her eyes she did not like whatever conclusions she'd reached.  “What do you mean 'new master'?  I haven't heard anything about this and it's not like it's just been a few days.  Wouldn't it have followed me thirteen years ago?!”</p><p>His eyebrows jumped up into his hair line at the words thirteen years.  Had it really been so long?  No wonder this completely different woman stood before him.  In casting the spell, he'd been pulled in as well, so for him it had been only a brief moment in time.  He gave a vague gesticulation, moving away from her.  “It tried.  “I stopped time within the Labyrinth in hopes of deterring it.  It would appear my charge managed to slip the leash...”  He kept his gaze off on that ever-dusk horizon, trying to keep his expression cool.</p><p>He heard her unsteady breath and glanced towards her.  She seemed troubled.  “What...happens now?”  Her voice was still steady, despite her obvious unease.</p><p>He pondered how to best answer that.  “You have a choice.  It is not pleasant, simple, nor easy and I rather suspect that even thirteen years later you will find that it is...not fair.”  He saw her frown at the reminder of her repeated entreaty her last time in the Underground.  “You see, Sarah, you have conquered the Labyrinth and it has been fighting the spell I cast these thirteen years.  Now that it has succeeded in escaping from the rather tight leash I kept upon it and followed you into the Above, it will attempt to pull the whole of the Underground with it.  As you might suspect, this is well and truly bad.”</p><p>He made yet another vague gesture, pacing away from her through the part of the Escher room they stood within.  “This decision which  my wayward pet has made is potentially destructive.  If it continues to attempt to merge the two worlds, both will be destroyed.”  He turned to face her.</p><p>Sarah made a soft choking sound, turning away from him and taking several paces as she attempted to collect herself.  This was new for him, this woman she'd become.  It was unfamiliar.  She was thinking before she acted or spoke.  How novel.  After a long moment of silence, she turned towards him, an earnest expression upon her lovely face.  “I cannot allow that to happen,” she said.  “I would ask to know what my choices are.”</p><p>He arched an eyebrow, stepping towards her.  “Are you willing to do whatever it takes to maintain the balance between the two worlds, Sarah Williams?  I can promise you shall not like either choice I give you.”  Those green eyes lifted to him and he saw her back stiffen and knew she was strapping on a bit of extra steel to her spine.</p><p>“Yes,” she finally answered.  Her expression showed her tension, her fear, but she did not back away from him, did not avert her gaze.  He would have answered her, had her expression not changed less than a moment later.  It turned thoughtful and she looked away, her brow wrinkling faintly.  That expression in this place brought back still fresh memories to the forefront of his mind.</p><p>You have no power over me...</p><p>Her eyes lifted and she looked up at him, as though seeing him for the first time.  That same expression she'd worn thirteen years ago when he'd last seen her, however now on a woman's face framed with short, dark hair.  She wet her lips and he wanted to catch those tempting things with his own.  Before he could, she spoke.  “I...I have to stay, don't I.”</p><p>It surprised him, how quickly she'd ascertained this knowledge.  Then again, it was part of the reason he'd fallen for the girl in the first place.  She was bright, intelligent, and clever.  The Labyrinth pulsed and he inclined his head, allowing it to put the image in his head.  Sarah wearing a white gown, standing at his side at a hand fasting ceremony.  He swallowed hard, pondering how to answer and still seem impartial.</p><p>“I'm afraid it goes a bit farther than merely taking up residence in the Underground,” he said, keeping his voice cool and indifferent.  He watched her expression change, surprised worry on her lovely features.  He wasn't certain how he was managing to maintain the coolness of his tone.  His emotions were raging, writhing.  “I am the Goblin King, and for a long time, that was enough for the Labyrinth.  Until you came here.  Now, the wayward creature wants you to create balance within it.  Which means you would have to become my wife.”</p><p>Her eyes were the size of dinner plates.  Her breath left her in a rush and she leaned back against the wall, looking dumbstruck.  It was a rather endearing expression.  “W-wife?”  The stutter was also endearing.  “You must be joking-”  She stopped and her eyes grew wider still.  She glanced down at the floor beneath her feet and frowned deeply.  “Who asked you?”</p><p>He fought the urge to smile when she chastised the maze.  Evidentially, she'd been conversing with the large stone Goliath for quite awhile.  “According to the Labyrinth, every king must eventually take a queen.”  He looked down at her, keeping his expression as close to disdain as he could manage.  “Imagine my surprise when it chose you.</p><p>She lowered her face and he wondered for a moment if the spoiled girl he remembered wasn't about to make a dramatic repeat appearance.  The one who'd rejected him, cast him aside.  She'd been more than willing to make friends with those who had traveled beside her, had invited them back into her life, but not the man who'd offered himself to her, who'd offered to belong to her.  Now she was being forced into the position with the man she likely hated.  Those thoughts managed to help him maintain his cold expression.  “Well then, Sarah Williams.  What say you?"</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter Three</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sarah took a deep breath, unable to look up into the cold expression upon his face.  His voice had that same mocking edge it had in the tunnels, when he'd asked her what she thought of the Labyrinth, except with the heat.  All her treasured childhood memories seemed to be falling apart like glass on a tile floor.  It hurt.  She would never tell him that, but it hurt.</p><p>She sighed, finally lifting her eyes to meet his own.  He was looking down at her with that unnervingly cold gaze and she forced herself to strap the extra steel upon her spine once again.  “I don't know.”  She said quietly.  She felt a momentary surge of victory when she saw the startled expression on his face from her words.  “I have to go back to the Above, at least for awhile.  There are other people involved in this whom I must...discuss this with.”</p><p>His eyes grew colder still.  “Such as?”</p><p>She crossed her arms.  “First off, all I have is a basic survival pack.  Not even first aide items and only a single change of underwear.  I'll need to collect some of my belongings, obviously.”  She waved a hand, as if it didn't matter that much, and began pacing.  “Second, Gary will notice if I disappear off the face of the planet.”</p><p>“Gary?”</p><p>The voice had managed to grow colder as well.</p><p>“Third, I promised Toby I'd come back.”  She turned on her heal, glaring up at the Goblin King, forcing herself to be just as cold.  “And so help me, Goblin King, if you try to stop me from keeping that promise, I'll make the rest of my life a living hell for you.”  Once again, she took a mildly sadistic pleasure in the startled expression which made a repeat appearance upon his face.</p><p>He glanced away.  “Why would young Tobias need to be involved at all?”  He asked flippantly, before returning his gaze to her.  “Why are any mortals involved in your decision?  I recall a girl who charged onward without much worry or thought-”</p><p>“I grew up, Goblin King.”  She snapped.  “I am Gary's editor, and his friend.  He deserves to know why I disappear off the face of the planet.  He's always been a good friend to me, and I'll not simply leave him to wonder if I'm laying somewhere labeled Jane Doe.”</p><p>Confusion flickered into the man's gaze, but she didn't bother fully explaining.  She took a deep breath.  “As for Toby...”  She looked away, her jaw clenching.  “I'm all he has left.  Dad and Karen are dead.”  She lifted her face, her jaw set.  She barely noticed the surprise on his face.  “I'm his guardian and I will not leave my baby brother to the system, to be sent from foster family to foster family if that is not his wish.”</p><p>Her chest was heaving, and she was so angry.  She watched as he stared at her for a long moment and found she could do little more than glare up at him in return.  When he spoke, it came as something of a surprise.  “I did not know, Sarah.  I am truly sorry.”</p><p>She looked away.  “That's to be expected, Jareth.”  She said quietly.  “It's been thirteen years, and best I can tell, you haven't been particularly capable of checking up on me during that time.”  She looked away, and after a moment, turned her back to him fully.  “I need to discuss this with my brother.  He...may or may not want to come along, but if he does, you've got no right to say anything to contrary.”</p><p>“Sarah, you have the right to make sure your family is cared for to your best ability, I'll even give you time to say goodbye to anyone you so choose...”  He seemed particularly annoyed with that part.  “However, I can't give you much time.  When you're not here, the Labyrinth is unhappy.  It tries to follow you.”</p><p>She closed her eyes and walked up to one of the walls, specifically the one she entered through and put a hand on it.  “You hear that, you over-grown lump of rock?  I have to go talk to my brother.  No trying to pull the Underground into the Above, because if you destroy both worlds, I'm going to be very upset with you.”  There was a petulant pulse beneath her feet, which almost made her smile.  It reminded her of a pouting child.  “Alright, then...”  She gave a half-turn, looking up at the Goblin King, keeping her face neutral as she could.  “I suppose you've got yourself a queen, then.”</p><p>He looked surprised.  “No complaints?  No wishes?  You simply return, finish your business, and then return here, and that's that?”</p><p>She glared at him.  “While it might be easier for you to deal with a spoiled adolescent who screams about life being unfair every five minutes that you remember, that's not who I am anymore.”  She felt her hands trembling and fisted them at her thighs.  “Send me back, and I should be ready by mid-afternoon tomorrow.”</p><p>“Mid-afternoon?!”</p><p>She glared at him once again, then glanced at her wrist watch.  “Well, yes.  It's two in the morning there.  While Toby is probably still up, and Gary as well, I'm not going to kill myself trying to get everything done.  As it is, I've been vertical for almost twenty four hours.  I'm going home, I'm going to sleep, and I'll...deal with the rest of this in the morning.”  She shrugged somewhat helplessly.</p><p>“Sarah-”</p><p>“I don't want to argue.  Please just...poof me back home, or whatever you did last time, so I can rest.  I'm exhausted, my head hurts and-”  She stopped herself, looking away.  Her head wasn't all that hurt.  Her heart was feeling rather bruised standing in the presence of the cold mocking monarch.  “I really just want to go home and have some time to think and sleep.”</p><p>There was a long moment of silence, and she knew well enough that he might say no.  She almost wished he would because then she could throw a colossal temper tantrum and act like the fifteen year old girl he obviously still thought she was.  She met his steady gaze with no small amount of defiance and after that long moment, he turned away.  “Very well.”  He waved a hand and she watched as he disappeared from sight.</p><p>The world around her shimmered and she found herself standing in her own kitchen.  Toby was sprawled over the counter, asleep, drooling slightly.  She sat down on the barstool next to him, slowly, and rested her hand on the boy's shoulder.  He stirred, looking up and nearly fell off the barstool when he saw her.  He lunged forward, hugging her tightly, protectively.</p><p>She chuckled softly, ruffling her younger brother's hair affectionately.  “I'm back, kiddo.”  She took a deep breath and tried to ignore the tears piercing her eyes.</p><p>“So...what's the news?  Why'd you see the Labyrinth?”</p><p>She lowered her gaze.  “It's late, baby brother, and I've spent the last several hours walking.  All I want to do right now is go to sleep and...”  She pressed a hand against her temple, wincing.  “It's hard to explain, baby.  I'm just...exhausted.”</p><p>Toby put a hand on her shoulder and looked at her, his eyes bright with concern.  “Okay, Sarah...”</p><p>She stood painfully slowly and turned away from him, walking towards her room.  She could already feel the stress of the whole situation catching up to her and her eyes began itching.  She didn't bother turning on her lights.  She merely walked towards her bed, crawled into it, ignoring a rather loud protestation from the old mattress.  She pulled her blankets up over her head and finally allowed herself to let the tears she'd held go.</p><p>0o0o0o0o0o0o0</p><p>Morning seemed to come entirely too early for her.  She'd wound up twisted up in her covers and looked down, finding that yet another button on her shirt had broken off in her sleep.  She sighed, closing her eyes and flopping backwards onto the bed.  A glance towards her clock found it read seven thirty and she couldn't help another weary sigh.  She got out of bed and knew the first call would have to be to her boss.  She picked up the phone and left a message saying that she was having to leave town permanently and was quitting.</p><p>Next, she called Gary.  The phone rang twice before it picked up.  “Sexy homosexual writers incorporated!”  She couldn't muster up the strength to smile at the chipper voice on the phone.  “May I ask if this call is regarding a date or a book?”</p><p>“Hi, Gare.”  She managed weakly.</p><p>“Sarah!  How are you doing this lovely morning?”</p><p>She pressed a hand against her head.  “Do you want honesty, or the normal banality where I lie and say everything is right as rain?”</p><p>There was a long moment of silence, and suddenly her gay friend sounded threatening and upset.  “What happened?”</p><p>She sighed softly.  “It's a long story.  You remember that old story I used to tell?  About the Labyrinth and such?”</p><p>“Of course, darling, it was brilliant.  Granted, it could have used more sex, but-”</p><p>“When I was fifteen, I wished my baby brother away to the Goblins, and had to fight my way through the Labyrinth to reclaim him, Gary.”  She sighed, when he went dead silent on the other end.  “Yesterday, the Labyrinth decided to come visit, and now I have to go back to the Underground.”  Just facts.  Nothing about how she really felt about this.</p><p>“I'm coming over.”  The statement was final.  She smiled weakly.</p><p>“See you soon, Gary,” she agreed.</p><p>With a heavy sigh, she crawled out of bed and found a comfortable t-shirt and jeans, changed and headed out to the living room.  She caught the scent of brewing coffee and sighed blissfully, heading over to the carafe and pouring herself a hefty mug full, sweetening it and poured some non-dairy creamer in it.</p><p>A long drink from her mug and she looked out at the deceptively peaceful morning.  The sun was bright, creating an almost kaleidoscopic effect through the autumnal leaves on the trees.  It would be the last time she saw the trees like this.  Probably the last time she saw the sun come up without that harsh orange glow.  Worse yet, she was having to leave it all to marry a man who obviously didn't even give a hoot about her.</p><p>She snorted at the thought.</p><p>A door opened and she turned, finding her brother standing there, his eyes dark with worry.  She gave him a warm smile and gestured for him to come sit at the bar.  “Gary's coming over for breakfast.”  She watched him cringe and laughed softly.  “He's not so bad.”</p><p>“He looks at me like he's a meat-eating predator and I'm a hefty side of beef.”  Toby said in distaste, but otherwise shrugged.  When his sister laughed, he allowed himself to smile.  “Sarah, tell me what happened.”</p><p>She swallowed hard, sipping her coffee and busying herself pouring her brother a mug as well.  “The short version is I'm about to be subjected to an arranged marriage.”  She saw his eyes go wide and he looked up at her, his jaw gaping.  “The Labyrinth likes me.”  She said softly, setting her coffee down.  “It wants me to stay in the Underground as...the Goblin Queen.”  She spoke with as little emotion as she could.</p><p>“Sweet, then?  You're getting the man who spoiled-”  He stopped when she put her hand over his mouth.</p><p>“Do you want to come with me.  If we go...we have to stay.  We can't come back.”  She saw him frown slightly and smiled sadly.  “I'll understand if you don't.  I...I don't really want to, but I don't have a choice.  It's this or I watch two worlds tear themselves apart.”</p><p>“Of course I'm coming with you!”  Toby hissed.  “What did you think, that I was just going to let some otherworldly creep come along and take you off to his castle and hold you prisoner without one friend from home?!”</p><p>She laughed weakly and then gave him a tight hug over the bar.  “Thanks, Tobes...”  She straightened.  “You should go pack a bag.  Just stuff you'll really need or want.  Stuff you'll miss, you know.”</p><p>“What are you going to tell Gary?”</p><p>“The truth.”  She smiled faintly.  “He'll call me crazy, and we'll cry.”  She sipped her coffee, giving a faint smirk.  “He's probably right.  Now go on.  I don't exactly know what the Underground's waste-management plan is, so make sure you get all the business you can done.”</p><p>“Oh, hell, don't tell me I'm gonna wind up using a chamber pot to squat...”</p><p>“You could always take a page from Hoggle's book and pee in the fountain.”  She smiled passively at the look of horror and disgust on the boy's face.  “Go on, get what you need done...”  She stood as well, taking her coffee with her into her room.  She tried not to think too much as she pulled out her old suitcase, and several changes of clothing and underwear.</p><p>She looked at herself in the mirror, and then began grabbing nicknacks she couldn't possibly leave behind.  Her music box from her mother.  She scooped up her trinkets without paying much attention to what she grabbed.  She gripped the Goblin King figure, staring it for a long time.  A part of her wanted to throw it across the room, simply for watching the miniature form shatter.  A much larger part still treasured the part he played in her childhood.  She wrapped it carefully, tucking it next to the music box, where it belonged.  A few of her faerie figurines, a few of her favorite goblins.</p><p>She reached her shelf of books and went through, picking and choosing carefully from the tales.  She packed her favorites in the box with her figurines and grabbed her photo albums.  She slipped them carefully down the side as well.</p><p>There was a loud knock at the door and it opened before she answered.  Moments later, Gary swept into her room, his brown eyes concerned.  Gary was not a bad looking guy.  His hair was black, eyes dark brown.  He had a slightly swarthy complexion, which he kept even in tone with a collection of make-up as vast as her own.  He stepped towards her, taking her face between his hands.  “Sweety, you look like hell!”</p><p>“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” she said dryly.</p><p>He looked into the box and saw her collection of items and his brow creased deeply.  “Sarah, honey, what is going on?  You sounded like you were going to a funeral over the phone this morning, and what's this about the Labyrinth?”</p><p>She sighed softly.  “Toby and I stop in that park on the way home.  We were doing...what we always do, acting a part from whatever play was coming up soon, and someone...a man interrupted us.  I saw the entrance to the Labyrinth out of the corner of my eyes...”  She shivered.  “It's not just that.  That...place has been superimposing itself over my life, I think.”</p><p>“Sarah, things like that simply don't happen.  Fantasy is great, but-”  Gary stared at something over her shoulder, his lips in a deep frown.  “What the devil?”</p><p>She glanced back and saw Goblins moving back and forth.  They couldn't see her, but she could see them, and evidentially, so could Gary.  She smiled faintly, shaking her head.  “The Labyrinth wants me as it's Queen.  I'm basically going to a wedding, but it may as well be a funeral.”  She bit her lip, refusing to let herself cry.</p><p>“Why do you say that, Sarah?  You've always acted like that whole time had a sp-”  She put her hands tightly over his mouth.</p><p>“I don't want to talk about it.  You didn't see him, Gary.  He...He was cold, like a marble statue.  Beautiful, but unfeeling.  That's what I'm marrying.  Not for love or even mutual affection.  I'm marrying to save the world.  Isn't that funny?”  She scoffed at herself.</p><p>“Then don't do it, what will he do, make you?”</p><p>She gave him a look of wry amusement.  “Yeah, right.”  She sighed, curling in on herself a bit.  “Trust me, if I could have gotten out of this, I would have.  The Labyrinth...wants me.  If I don't go to it, it will come to me, and believe me, that would put a cramp in your style.”</p><p>He glanced away.  “Toby's going with you?”</p><p>“Yes.”  She nodded, smiling sadly.</p><p>“So am I.”</p><p>She blinked, startled.  “But...why?”</p><p>“Because, you owe me about three more stories worth of editing for that favor I did so long ago.”  He smirked at her, his eyes mischievous.  “Besides, I can't let my best girlfriend go off to god-only-knows-where, to marry some king and not be there to act as your personal scribe.  One day, you might look back on this and be grateful that you were forced into this marriage.  Who knows.”</p><p>She smirked at him.  “You just want to sneak a peak at the Goblin King.”</p><p>He set a hand on his hip and smirked at her.  “You know me too well, darling.”</p><p>Sarah tilted her head back and laughed.</p><p>0o0o0o0o0o0o0</p><p>Jareth stared into the mirror, tugging a few errant strands of hair properly into their new place.  He'd cringed when he'd looked into a mirror after that first reunion with Sarah Williams.  By the Underground, he looked like he'd been rolling around in the dust.  Speaking of which...He glanced out the window.</p><p>Goblins were moving and bustling about, preparing the castle and kingdom for the arrival of it's queen.  They quite had their work cut out for them.  It was probably for the best that she'd demanded a few hours to herself, as he needed time to get a suite together for the future queen, as well as her brother Toby.</p><p>Currently, he was pondering wardrobe choices while looking at his freshly cut, dust-free hair.  Ugh.  Everything, everything had a layer of dust upon it when time had finally started moving again.  The Labyrinth had shaken itself off immediately following, acting like a happy puppy, knowing it was going to see it's master soon.  Would  that he could be angry with it for it's choice.</p><p>The truth was he was not angry at all.  Sarah had grown into a lovely woman, had obviously not lost the heart that had called to him to begin with.  She was stronger, less spoiled, and obviously far more responsible than the child he remembered.  She would make a fine queen.  How fine a wife she would make remained to be seen.  Her defiance in the Escher room after she spoke his name – he would pretend his insides didn't do a happy little jig at the fact that she had done so – was troubling.</p><p>True, he was hiding his feelings for the woman, but he knew she would simply feel uncomfortable or even disbelieving with the knowledge.  What ever was he to do with such a stubborn woman?  It was more than obvious that he couldn't show her the truth of himself, could not tell her those words which she likely believed to be a ruse were so much more.</p><p>He'd offered his heart to the girl she'd been and she had kicked it aside, ignorant of the truth within the words.</p><p>So he stood, pondering the clothes waiting for him.  There was the villainous leather, the blacks, the reds, dark blues, with just a dash of glitter.  There was the hero's clothes, such as he'd worn in her ballroom dream and during that final confrontation.  There were his casual clothes, loose billowing shirts, which were comfortable and practical.</p><p>What on earth does one go pick up one's reluctant bride in?</p><p>Knowing Sarah, she expected a similar experience to when first they met, the goblins sweeping in and kidnapping her away, or him arriving in his full regalia, prepared to play the part of the villain.  How tired he was of that part.  He had not exaggerated about how exhausting it had been, trying to keep up with her little whims her last time here, yet another reason to worry for his sanity with her as his wife.  She'd wanted everything from romantic, tragic hero to villainous, seductive king.</p><p>He'd given it to her.  He'd played the villain as she'd wished, when she wished, trying to seduce her from her chosen path with every way he knew to be generally successful.  It had come as a pleasant shock when he'd been pulled into that peach-induced dream, allowed to play the part of her prince.  Yet, even he had not been enough.  She'd even run from him in the dream.</p><p>No, Sarah Williams did not want the Goblin King, did not wish to be his queen.  She'd accepted for no other reason than to protect two worlds she held stake in.  Cruel, cruel Sarah...</p><p>He sighed, deciding on something caught between the two extremes, a little black leather and wine red velvet, black breeches, and boots.  He looked at himself in the mirror, tugging a few strands of hair into their appropriate place.  The ground beneath his feet gave an amused thrum beneath his feet.  A picture came to his head, showing a male peacock preening it's feathers.  He frowned deeply.  “Are you mocking me?”</p><p>An affirmative.</p><p>“Do you have a better recommendation for what I should do with my time?”</p><p>Several far more explicit picture regarding alternative serving suggestions for chocolate sauce – most of which featured Sarah – popped into his head and his breath hissed out from between his teeth.  “You'd bloody well behave yourself, Labyrinth.  Sarah might not care for suggestions such as that.”</p><p>“Highness?”</p><p>Jareth gave a half-turn, finding one of his goblins trembling at the entrance to his quarters.  “What?”  He didn't bother trying to soften his tone.</p><p>“The suites you requested...”  The goblin trailed off a bit.  At the rather frightening look of patience he gave the creature, it sputtered back, finding it's tongue.  “They're awaiting your approval...”</p><p>The Goblin King gave a heavy sigh and followed the goblin to the suites which were, unsurprisingly not far from his own.  “Why are they not in the adjoining suite?”</p><p>The goblin gulped.  “We figured h-h-her majesty would be...wanting to oversee decoratin' her p-p-permanent room...”</p><p>He arched an eyebrow, patiently.</p><p>“Er...that is...”</p><p>“We had furniture brought in and some nice dark colors p-p-painted on the walls, but Mister D says she more suited to bright colors, and suggested it, sir...ssssince he's her friend and knight, we thought he w-w-would know...”</p><p>Jareth waved a hand, sending the goblin to the bog and entered the suite Sarah would be occupying until after the wedding.  It would appear the little fox goblin was correct.  This dark, dismal room did not suit bright-eyed Sarah Williams.  Likely, she would need her own little oasis within this already dark and dismal realm.  The bathroom was far smaller than the one between the king and queen's suites as well.  Perhaps after she moved into the queen's rooms, Toby would occupy it.</p><p>He checked the boy's room, wincing once again.  Goblins truly were not the best choices for interior decorators.  It might have been best to call her friends and have them set up her room.  He sighed and conjured a crystal, tossing it at the room.  Both rooms brightened, Sarah's far more romantic than she'd likely design herself.  The woman she was now would probably request something practical.  He scoffed.</p><p>He was also going to have to commission a wardrobe for she and Toby.  Considering what she'd worn at fifteen and upon their most recent meeting, it was unlikely she had any clothing suitable for entering a kingdom as a future queen.  With a resigned sigh, he tucked away several spells which would hopefully provide suitable ensembles for her to wear her first full day in the castle, as well as one or two for Toby.  They weren't true articles of clothing, basically illusion spells.</p><p>He pulled out a pocket watch and peered at it.  It was barely after noon.  Technically she said mid-afternoon and he wondered if she'd be rather perturbed if he transported into her home and whisked she and her brother off this instant.  After all,she would undoubtedly like to take the rest of the day to get settled into her new-</p><p>Home?  Prison?  Unfortunately for him the later was probably how she was looking at the whole thing.  She wasn't even confined to a gilded cage, no, she was stuck in the rat hold Goblin Kingdom, and it's grubby castle.  Under perfectly normal circumstances, he'd believed being married to him in all of his sensual masculine glory would be enough, but it had not been enough before, and it would not be enough now.</p><p>He should not complain.  After all, this is what he wanted.  He got the girl and the baby, just thirteen years later than he would have preferred.  Alright, granted, it had not been thirteen years for him, not really, and she had certainly grown into the shape she'd been developing as a girl, but it was the principle of the thing.  She was just a mortal, and there he was, beautiful, otherworldly, and she had the audacity to turn him down.  It was a scandal, and outrage.</p><p>He conjured a crystal from mid air, gazing into it, sadistically hoping that she'd be crying, yet also praying she'd be daydreaming about him, thinking of him.  What he saw was vastly different.  She was engrossed in deep conversation with a man with dark hair and eyes and swarthy olive complexion.  The man was holding her hands, his eyes bright with concern.</p><p>Every muscle in his arm grew tense and he forced himself to release the crystal before he shattered it in his palm.  He gathered his magic and decided to pay a visit to his wayward bride.  He appeared in her room, leaning against the entrance to the door, looking in on her, his eyes stormy and turbulent.</p><p>They didn't even notice.  His brow twitched in annoyance.  He was about to go break up the party, when a blond head peeked around him, glancing into the room.  “Huh, wonder when Gary got here.  Hi, Jareth.”</p><p>The Goblin King stopped, turning and staring at the teenage boy who walked away from him and into the kitchen, pouring a healthy dose of coffee into a mug, spooning in some white powder followed by granulated sugar.  The boy swirled the spoon in the cup, looking up at him and Jareth felt a twinge of surprise upon noticing the distinct upward slant of the boy's brows.</p><p>“You should sit down.  Sarah'll be mad as hell if you interrupt her girl-talk.”  He sounded wry, amused, even as he glanced towards her bedroom door.</p><p>“Toby Williams, I presume...”  Jareth sat upon one of the barstools, examining the boy closely.  “I take it Sarah has discussed what has happened with you?”</p><p>The boy looked at him, his face serious.  He stood an admirable five foot ten for his fourteen years.  There was a twinge of irritation in those bright blue eyes.  “She told me that the Labyrinth wants her and she has to marry you to keep our world and yours from being blown to bits or torn to hell or some such crap.”  He sipped his coffee, leaning on the counter and eying him, his expression dark.  “Could you do me a favor, Jareth?”</p><p>He arched an eyebrow at the boy.  “That would depend on the favor.”</p><p>“It's nothing big.  Just want you to say something for me...”</p><p>Now officially interested and baffled in equal measure, Jareth inclined his head, arching the brow further.  “Oh, do tell.”</p><p>Toby grinned wickedly at him.  “I want you to say...'Would you like fries with that'.”</p><p>0o0o0o0o0o0o0</p><p>It was probably very fortunate for all involved that Jareth never had an opportunity to fulfill Toby's curiosity in that particular matter.  As luck would have it, Sarah left her room with Gary just in time to hear the mischievous teen say that to the Goblin King, and she marched forward, slamming her hands down on the counter top, breaking their locked gazes, Toby's somewhat malicious, Jareth's curious.  Those mis-matched eyes met her own and she forced herself to remain calm and not make a fool of herself.  “You're early.”</p><p>“You said mid-afternoon.  You did not specify a particular time.”</p><p>Sarah closed her eyes and counted to ten, trying to maintain her composure, while her dear gay friend was ogling the Goblin King.  When she opened her eyes, she found Gary was staring blatantly at Jareth's pelvis, while her husband-to-be was valiantly pretending not to notice.  “I suppose it's just as well that you're here.  Gary wants to come with me and Toby.”  She lifted her chin, looking at him defiantly, hoping he'd act like a jerk.  She had several skillets she was itching to try out.</p><p>He glanced towards the man who was looking at him in blatant appraisal and then looked back towards her.  “And why is that, Sarah?”</p><p>She shrugged.  “I still owe him a few favors, and I suppose he's looking at getting a best-selling novel out of this...whatever it is...”  She saw something flash in the man's eyes before it was hidden behind the cool indifference once again.</p><p>“A room shall have to be made for him.  Toby's and your own are already complete.”  He eyed her t-shirt with obvious distaste.  “You aren't planning on wearing that to meet your subjects for the first time, are you?”</p><p>She bristled, and felt Gary's hands grip her shoulders to hold her back.  “Look, your highness, perhaps you've got a sizable enough wardrobe to have a costume change every hour every day, but most of what I own are t-shirts and jeans.  They're cheep, wash and wear, and if there's a hole in it, I don't have to worry about my budget busting.”</p><p>Jareth gave her a patient look, which on his face was actually rather frightening.  He inclined his head slightly, covering his mouth with a hand and tapping his cheekbone with one long, gloved finger.  “Have you completed your business in this world?”</p><p>She exhaled heavily, the not so subtle reminder of the time constraint reminding her of two or three things she still had to do.  “Not quite.”  She walked towards the phone, otherwise ignoring the monarch.</p><p>“Ouch,” she heard Gary murmur.  “I don't know what you did to get on her bad side, but I haven't seen Sarah give someone the cold shoulder like that since that creep felt her up at the office.”</p><p>She could feel eyes boring into her back and chose to ignore them, lifting the phone and dialing the school.  It rang twice and she let her breath sigh from between her teeth, making a soft hissing sound.  “Yes, I'd like to speak to the admissions officer?”</p><p>“One moment, please.”</p><p>“So, are you going to say it?”</p><p>She glanced behind her, seeing her brother wearing that malicious look once again.  “Toby, if you don't behave, you can go finish out school today, and I can deal with this after.”  She warned in a falsely sweet tone.</p><p>Toby flinched, looking away.</p><p>“Gary, you remember what I said I wanted to bring?  Could you please finish my packing?  I'm sure His Nibs would like to move things along.”  She glanced towards her friend, who nodded, giving Jareth one more blatant once over, before mouthing 'Oh, My GOD,' and wandering off to her room.  Sarah rolled her eyes, turning her back towards the Goblin King and her brother.</p><p>“Admissions.”</p><p>“Hello, this is Sarah Williams, guardian of Toby Williams.  I'm withdrawing him from school, due to a long distance permanent move.”</p><p>“Just a moment, ma'am.”</p><p>She scowled at being called ma'am, but shrugged it off.  “Toby, are you finished getting your stuff together?”  She asked, not turning around to look at him.</p><p>“Uh...there's a few things left...”</p><p>“Then perhaps you should go finish...”  She turned her attention back to the phone.</p><p>“Yes, ma'am, all finished.  Will you be here to sign the paperwork for the formal withdrawal today?”  The woman on the other end asked, and Sarah winced when she heard gum being smacked in her ear.</p><p>“Highly unlikely.”  She said calmly.  “We're catching a plane in an hour and our day is a little...hectic.”</p><p>“We usually require a twenty four hour notification prior to withdrawal, in order to reclaim Mr. William's tuition.”</p><p>“Like I'll need it.”  She muttered.  “Well, suffice to say that Toby will not be there tomorrow, or any day following.”  She said, keeping her voice cool and detached.  “Good bye.”  She hung up before the woman had an opportunity to respond.  She mentally counted to ten in her head and rubbed her temples.  The sound of boots on the floor drew her attention, but she didn't turn.</p><p>“I could have handled all this in a minimally painful fashion with a simple spell.  They would have not even known you and Toby ever existed.”  He sounded so cold, so uncaring, it caused her temper to prickle once again.</p><p>She turned towards him, poking him in his chest, glaring up at his face.  “Yes, I know.  I also know that I'd like to leave some manner of footprint in this world I've lived in for twenty eight years.”  She saw something akin to interest in his eyes and drew her hand away, pacing away from him.</p><p>“I did warn you that you wouldn't like your options.”</p><p>She sighed, walking into the kitchen and pouring herself a second, equally hefty mug of coffee.  “Yes, you did.  If I can say anything about you, it's that you're very honest.  You've at least never outright lied to me.  Not that you didn't attempt to misdirect me.”</p><p>He hummed, his eyes still following her.  “Misdirection is something you would do well to learn.  It is rather unwise to be completely honest while dealing with the creatures of the Underground.”  He glanced towards her room in distaste.  “I suppose your Gary has a few things he'd like to collect as well?”</p><p>She glanced away.  “He's not my Gary.”  She said, her voice terse.  “He's been Stan's Gary, and Michael's Gary, but trust me, he's not barking up that tree, highness.”</p><p>“I beg your pardon?”  Jareth arched a brow in curiosity.</p><p>She looked at him, dumbstruck.  “You mean to tell me you couldn't tell he was ogling you?  For Pete's sake, he couldn't stop staring at your...assets.”  She gestured vaguely to his pelvis with her hand and that brow nearly disappeared into his hairline.  She huffed.  “Gary prefers the company of other men.”  No need to tell the Goblin King that Gary had also been her first time.  It wasn't really any of his business.  “As for whether or not Gary has anything he wants to get, he carries his world in a briefcase to the best of my knowledge.  He often says that if his house caught fire, he'd grab his briefcase before he'd put on clothing.”</p><p>“What's so important about this...case?”</p><p>She took a long drink of her coffee, before cringing upon realizing she hadn't doctored it.  She scooped in the sugar and some creamer and then met his gaze as she stirred the cup.  “Gary's a writer.  He keeps his manuscripts in that case, and he'd be very upset if those were lost.  He often says that even with the original outline or draft, you can't write the same story twice.”</p><p>She watched him muse over that for awhile then turned her attention back to her coffee.  This certainly was surreal.  For all of her fantasizing about the man, the reality was always a little off.  Back as a teen, she'd hoped for a savior, only to find a villain who'd kidnapped her brother.  She'd dreamed of a knight and had found herself confronted with a king.  As an adult, she'd dreamed of having the heart of that king who'd terrified her in her youth and she was found herself faced with a cold monarch, who seemed to have little more interest in her than protecting their two worlds.</p><p>That was fine.  She could pretend well enough that she was not interested in him either.  She'd do her duty as queen and maintain the balance between the worlds.  She wouldn't foolishly allow herself to fall in love with the man or even give in to the belief that maybe she wasn't seeing everything.  His words that time had merely been a ruse to distract her.  One last minute effort to win the baby.</p><p>How she hated putting Toby in his grasp again.</p><p>“You resent me, don't you.”</p><p>The words drew her attention back to the present.  She focused on the face of the Goblin King, who looked indifferent and out of place, with his elbow leaning on the Formica counter.  She pondered that question for a long moment and then shrugged.  “In some ways, yes.  In other's, no.  I can hardly blame you for the decision made by a large sentient maze.  Your attitude on the other hand, sucks.”</p><p>“I'm afraid your Above lingo is a little foreign.  'Sucks'?”  He had the nerve to look mildly amused.</p><p>She sighed waving a hand.  “Yes, sucks.  Sucks, bites, blows.  It stinks worse than the Bog of Eternal Stench.  I like to think I'm being a pretty good sport about having my world turned upside down, but you're being a rather insufferable prick.”</p><p>He regarded her coolly.  “You realize you're talking to a king?”</p><p>“Yeah, I do, and I figure first off, we're in my realm, so you're not a king here.”  She began ticking off on her finger.  “Oh, and when I get to the Underground, I'm basically a queen whether I want to be or not, that puts us on even footing there, too.”</p><p>“You'd be wrong.”  His tone was icy.  “You'd do well to watch your tongue, Sarah.  Not everyone in the Underground would take your insubordination with the ease which I do.”</p><p>Carefully, she set her coffee on the counter, then turned a scorching look upon the sovereign of the goblin kingdom.  “Look, highness,” she managed to make the title sound like an insult.  “I may be marrying you, but that hardly makes you the boss of me.  If you want to keep my mouth shut, invest in a little thing called a scolds bridle, and then I wont have a choice.”</p><p>His eyes widened at the suggestion, and his expression turned dark as he leaned towards her.  “You think I would do such a thing to a woman?!  Even one as willful and frustrating as you?!”</p><p>“They're like two seconds away from a anger and frustration filled make-out session, I just know it!”  Gary said, leaning against the wall beside Toby.</p><p>Sarah felt the embarrassment color her face.  Quickly, she backed from the Goblin King, turning towards her friend.  “Dream on, Gary.  This isn't one of your smutty books.”</p><p>“Oh, come on, you two have more drama than TNT during Law and Order, Sare,” Toby quipped.</p><p>Gary cursed softly.  “I should have kept my mouth shut.  This is like primo material, darling!  Unbelievably sexy immortal monarch and beautiful mortal woman, both stubborn as the day is long!  Ah, Anne Rice, eat your heart out...”</p><p>Sarah scrubbed her face, wondering why she had friends and family to begin with.  “I hope this means the packing's done.”  She said, feeling very weary.</p><p>“All finished,” Toby agreed.  He glanced towards Jareth, his expression darkening a bit.  “How are we getting it all there?”</p><p>Jareth inclined his head, leaning once again on the counter.  “If you'll bring all of your goods into this room, I can deal with the whole thing in a single go.”  When the two trudged back into the room, he turned to pin Sarah with a suspicious look.  “Now my memory may be faulty, but I recall getting along just fine with Toby when he was a babe.”</p><p>The look screamed 'what have you been telling that boy'.  She sipped her coffee.  “I told him the story ages ago, while he was still living with dad and Karen.  I'd imagine his main problem is the same I had when I was about his age...”  She looked at him, arching an eyebrow and smirking.  “He's a teenager, and he's rather protective of me.  Like I said, I'm all he has left.  You should have seen him posture when someone hit on me in the park last night...”  She shook her head, fondly watching her brother haul his suitcase, his art supply kit, several canvases, his sketch pads, and his guitar from his bedroom.</p><p>A glance towards the Goblin King found him looking at those particular items in interest.  “Toby, you have an affinity for art?”</p><p>Toby looked towards him, his eyes brightening a bit.  “Of all kinds.”  He said in agreement, before heading back to his room.</p><p>Jareth gave the girl who was drinking her coffee a wry look.  “An affinity you nurtured, I presume.”</p><p>She glanced towards him.  “Yes, I encourage his love of art, as well as funding most of his supplies,” she added dryly.</p><p>He wore an odd expression, almost thoughtful.  Oddly, for the first time since he'd woken, she thought she might be seeing a true expression.  It came as slightly funny that it was her brother that brought about such an expression.  Then again, he probably wasn't aware he was showing any expression at all.  She sighed softly, looking away from him.</p><p>“Sarah,” he said after a moment.</p><p>“Hm?”</p><p>“Have you...missed your friends in the Underground?”  His voice was quiet, his face once again without expression.  He wasn't looking at her, seeming to focus on something very far away.  “Or did you pass it off as a dream after it occurred?”</p><p>She sighed heavily, then drained her mug to give herself time to think.  Finally, she set the mug in the sink and turned towards him and watched him for a long moment.  She'd never noticed before now, really, how alone he always looked, even when hiding his emotions.  Even when surrounded by others, he was alone.  It seemed to her he made himself that way.  “If you'd been in my situation, would you have forgotten it or just thought it was a dream?”  She asked, keeping her voice cool.  “Of course I missed them.  I tried several times to call them, but to no avail.”</p><p>He lifted his gaze, looking at her for a long moment.</p><p>“For the longest time, I simply passed them not visiting as your last little piece of revenge against the girl who defeated you.  Now I know otherwise.  Now, I'm going to go make sure Gary isn't flipping through my underwear looking for pieces he'd like to keep...”</p><p>She took a deep breath and walked away.</p><p>It only took ten minutes to move the boxes into the living room.  Gary went down to his car and brought up his briefcase, and set it with the other goods.  Jareth tossed a crystal at the stack, and they vanished.  Sarah managed to restrain a grin at Gary's enthusiastic 'that's so cool'.</p><p>However, when Jareth's eyes fixated on her, amusement fled.  He was looking at her with a strange intensity, as though pondering something.  Then, he looked over her brother and friend in the same manner.  When he produced three crystals, the hair on the back of her neck stood on edge and she felt the faintest prickle of fear.</p><p>Fear turned to alarm when he threw the crystals at her, her brother, and Gary.  She caught it and felt a tingle go from the crystal all the way up her arms and suddenly her clothing was much less comfortable, and far heavier.  She looked down and found herself dressed in a long gown of lemon yellow, accented with white lace.  She lifted her eyes, looking up at the Goblin King in confused surprise.  A glance towards her brother found him dressed in similar style, wearing sky blue with silver embroidery on the tailed waistcoat.  Even his hair had been styled to suit his highness.  She glanced toward Gary, who was dressed in a black short-coat and pale lavender cravat, which he was staring down at in curiosity.</p><p>“That's damn useful, that thing with the crystals.”  Gary said, suitably impressed.  “What else can you do with them?”</p><p>Jareth looked mildly amused.  “That is a discussion that would take far too long.  You'll have to learn as I go.”  He stepped towards them, and then ushered them forward, through a doorway, which, to Sarah's surprise, led directly into the edge of the Goblin City.</p><p>It had changed a great deal since she'd left only hours ago.  The clean up had been obviously completed, and when they arrived, supposedly through the large doors at the entrance to the city, a resounding cheer went up around them.  She attempted to shrink backwards, but a hand on the small of her back, prevented the motion.</p><p>“Sarah and I lead the procession,” he said calmly.  “Toby, you and Gary would do well to follow close behind.  There will be an opportunity to explore later.”  He offered his arm in a gentlemanly fashion and she straightened her back, taking a deep breath before setting her hand lightly upon his arm.  She didn't slip it through, refusing to give the impression of any friendly intimacy between them.</p><p>Jareth stepped forward, leading them towards the castle.  Sarah tried to ignore the tiny wail of despair within her heart.  She truly had no choice in this matter.  She would marry the Goblin King.  But that didn't mean she'd let him rule her life.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter Four</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sarah's world had turned into a whirl of intense activity as soon as she arrived.  Goblins scrambling over her with tape measures, other's asking her about her preferences for food, still others asking if she wanted to hold the wedding in the Bog of all places.</p><p>Jareth allowed it to continue for little more than a minute before barking out that they all needed to find other places to be.  One remained behind, inquiring what they would prefer for dinner.  Jareth responded with something she couldn't understand and the goblin grinned toothily at her.  Once they were alone, she pulled her hand off his arm, using it to gather her skirts.</p><p>“If you'll direct me to my rooms-”</p><p>“Sarah-”</p><p>“I'll get started with my unpacking.  I'm sure Toby would like that as well.”  She found she couldn't look at him as she spoke.  His hand caught her chin and she saw a carefully neutral expression on his face when he forced her to look at him.</p><p>“You have not yet learned the layout of this castle.  I will walk you to your rooms myself.  If there is anything that does not meet your approval, I'll deal with it.”  He spoke with that same cold neutrality she could see in his face.</p><p>She brushed his hand away from her jaw, looking away from him so he wouldn't see the way her eyes teared up.  “The gesture is appreciated, but unnecessary.”  She said quietly, walking forward and waiting.  She heard a sound of irritation from the Goblin King, and he swept past her, barely giving her more than a glance.</p><p>“Then follow me.”  She had to lengthen her stride to keep up with him.  She was not short by any means, but he walked with a stride that made it obvious that he trying to hurry things along.  All she wanted to do was change back into her comfortable t-shirt and blue jeans and pretend for just a moment that she was back home on her uncomfortable bed.</p><p>She was so lost in her thoughts and regrets, it came as something of a shock when he stopped directly in front of a door.  “Toby, your room is immediately to the left, Gary, yours will be one down from that.  Be forewarned, however, unlike these two, I was unaware of your presence, and as a result, the goblins decorated your room.”</p><p>She heard the faintest amusement in the man's voice.  She stepped forward, surprised when there was a happy pulse beneath her feet and the door opened before she touched it.  Her eyes widened when she stepped into the room.  It was a sitting room with lovely, comfortable chairs, covered in what looked like damask, colored blue.  Medium wood tables, and a desk in the small corner with things necessary for writing.  Several bookshelves lined the walls.  She stepped forward, finding a soft, plush area carpet covering a large portion of the floor.</p><p>Curiosity led her to a door to the side.  She found a small bathroom with no bath and nearly cringed, but shrugged off her disappointment, moving towards another door.  When she opened it, her breath caught.  The bed was significantly larger than her old one and covered with white and pale blue linens.  Sheer white curtains hung in front of the window, twined around the tall canopy bed.  The furniture was lovely, feminine, and already, she could see that there was quite literally anything she might need or want.  It was a room fit for a fair, lovely maiden.  A room of magic and wonder and romance.</p><p>Another door opened, beckoning her.  She inclined her head, frowning faintly.  There was a pulse beneath her feet.  With a huff, she allowed her new pet to lead her to the next room, not hearing the man following her.</p><p>She walked in and drapes pulled themselves back, revealing a much larger bathroom.  There was a deep sunken tub and separate shower.  A small closet was filled with midnight blue and gold towels.  A large mirror set over a deep, bowl-style sink.  A peek around a privacy screen found a commode.  She straightened, setting her hands on the counter on either side of the sink.</p><p>A movement in her periphery caught her attention and she looked up into the mirror, seeing Jareth standing there, watching her with a neutral expression on his face.  However, she could see what she could only describe as anxiety in his eyes.</p><p>“They meet your approval?”</p><p>Sarah lowered her gaze, feeling vaguely uncertain.  She turned towards him.  “You had a hand in this?”</p><p>He gave an odd smile.  “Goblins are rather bad at interior decorating.”</p><p>“I can imagine,” she couldn't help smile back.  “They're lovely...It just seems a little...much.  This suit is, as you might notice, larger than the whole of my apartment was.  I...don't need something so large-”  She stopped when displeasure flashed in his eyes.  She couldn't control her flinch in response to his upset.  “I mean, they're just temporary.  All the period stories I've read the...queen had a suite beside the king's own.”</p><p>He must have seen her discomfort, because he closed his eyes for a moment, seeming to have an internal struggle.  He took a deep breath to calm himself and inclined his head.  “There is, unfortunately, much time and toil necessary for planning a wedding.”  He said, calmly.  “You will need a suitable wardrobe for your station, as will Toby and your scribe.”  He frowned faintly, gripping her chin.  “Not to mention there is much you will need to learn of courtly manners and politics, as well as practicing for the wedding, coronation, dancing lessons.  We've got our work cut out for us.”</p><p>Sarah looked up at him in surprise.  “Oh...so...how long will I be in these rooms?”</p><p>He smirked faintly, releasing her face.  “So eager to jump into my bed, Sarah?”</p><p>She flushed darkly, turning her face from his.  “Not on your life.”  She growled darkly.  She saw the flicker of arrogance and caught the faint flirtatious hint in the words.  “Thank you for showing me to my rooms, Highness.”  She said, trying to maintain her calm with a man who was a walking sin standing so close to her.  Oh, heavens to Betsy, he smelled good.</p><p>He gave a slight bow, leaving her alone in her rooms, flushed and feeling slightly awkward and uncomfortable.</p><p>A sigh escaped her and she came to a decision.  She was going to have to try to avoid him whenever possible and pretend he didn't have any effect on her, all while waiting for this auspicious wedding to arrive.</p><p>0o0o0o0o0o0o0</p><p>Jareth was getting annoyed.</p><p>Sarah was, if possible, being even more difficult than what he was accustomed to.  She avoided him whenever possible, using excuses such as going to lessons, getting a snack, looking for Toby, Gary, the goblin who helped her with her dress.  She was going to such lengths that she'd even bolted the door to her room in order to prevent his entry.  Not that it would stop him, but he was trying to be less of a 'prick'.</p><p>Toby had cornered him on several occasions, asking why Sarah was so pissy, but Jareth had little insight into this, and Sarah refused to tell him.  He'd tried asking, but she always skirted around him.  It was plainly obvious that she didn't want to be alone with him and it frustrated him.  He wanted to wrap his hands 'round her throat and choke her just a bit.</p><p>Yes, as if he could actually harm the frustrating woman.</p><p>Her comment regarding purchasing a scold's bridle still stung.  Evidentially, the impression he'd left when first they met was dismal indeed if she truly believed he could hurt a woman, much less her, in such a way.</p><p>“Are you happy, Labyrinth,” he asked bitterly.  “Your chosen queen wants naught to do with your chosen king.  She refuses to be in my presence for longer than a moment, can scarcely eat during meals.  She's only doing this because you did not give her an alternative.”</p><p>There was a despondent pulse from the stone beneath his feet, as if it sensed the discord within him.  A picture filled his mind of Sarah looking sad.  Another followed of himself, looking equally put-out.</p><p>“That is what happens when you force two people into a dysfunctional relationship, pet.”  He sighed, running a hand through his hair.  “She...doesn't want me.”  The words were laced with bitterness, obvious, even to his own ears.  “I want her, may the darkness help me, I want her with ever fiber of my being, but I also hate her for what she did to me.”</p><p>Another pulse, this one a bit sad.  It was confused by the emotions within the people it cared for.  Jareth knew this.  Toby'd been prickly since he'd arrived, Gary was slowly easing off the plateau of amazement and excitement, and Sarah...</p><p>Which brought him back to his current dilemma.  He wanted to reassure her.  He wanted to ease her concerns.  Hell, he wanted to press her against a castle wall one of these times she tried to run away and ravish her till her hair caught fire.  Lord and Lady, every time he was near her, he felt himself responding to her presence as he always had.  He felt the urge to preen, flirt, intimidate, seduce, as well as several other things which were decidedly not 'child-friendly' material.</p><p>If she'd accepted his offer thirteen years ago, he would have had her in his bedroom before the words had fully left her mouth.</p><p>He closed his eyes, pressing a hand to his forehead and falling backwards onto his bed, trying to push these manner of thoughts from his head.  He'd come to a decision after leaving her alone in her suite, all those days ago.  He would be polite, charming, the consummate gentleman, however, he refused to make the same mistake twice in – for him – half as many weeks.</p><p>He would not show her how desperately he needed her.  He would not tell her that those words he'd spoken were not a distraction, they were a desperate plea.  Never before had he ever been so captivated by a runner, never before had he gone to near the lengths to stop her.  He coveted both she and her brother.</p><p>His heir.</p><p>He scrubbed his forehead, sighing softly.  The boy did not like him.  He was prickly, angry.  Jareth supposed it made sense.  He'd been torn away from everything that he knew, brought to a strange land for no reason given beyond that of the maze having chosen Sarah for his queen.  Any boy his age was ordinarily remarkably cranky about being unable to control his life, and Toby – dear Toby, who was developing Jareth's own features with a startling speed, completing a transformation thirteen years in the making.  Sarah's too, were changing although more slowly.  She would grow even more lovely as time passed.</p><p>His blood pulsed at the knowledge that in little more than a month, Sarah would finally be his.  His wife, his queen.  The one thing he'd wanted more than anything, the only woman he'd ever met who was the embodiment of what he wanted in a queen.  There was none of the coquettish habits of the ladies in the courts beyond the realm, none of the giggling behind lace fans, none of the blatant insinuations that an invitation to his bed would not be denied.</p><p>Sarah had never been like that.  Her feet were connected firmly to the earth while her head remained in the clouds.  Her eyes were expressive, scarcely hiding the emotions within her.  She'd grown better at hiding those as she'd aged, but he could still watch the fire flash in them, a fire he wished would burn him more than anything.</p><p>The girl did not want him, but he wanted her.  He hated that he wanted her.  Had he lived day to day these thirteen years, perhaps he would have grown past this intense desire for the girl she had been and now the woman she'd become.  However, he was still caught in that moment so long ago, her careless words which had struck him as effectively as any blow.  His heart had not had the time it needed to recover from such a blow.  He would have been more than happy to simply spend the next decade pretending the girl did not exist, laying with as many 'ladies' of the court as he was able, to purge the insufferable chit from his mind.</p><p>He knew it would have done little good, for he knew that during those moments with those other women, she would come to his mind and when the long awaited moment finally came, it would have been her name falling from his lips.  Darkness help him, ever since time had begun moving again, every night he had some of the most stirring, arousing dreams he could remember having about a woman in his life.  Never before had he woken as these dreams made him, her name at his lips, find physical gratification from a non-physical encounter.</p><p>Good grief, if he was already reacting to her presence like this, how on earth would he survive the wedding night and consummation?</p><p>The Goblin King would never admit to anyone, much less a mortal chit who'd rejected him once already, that he was anxious or nervous about the wedding.</p><p>He sighed heavily, then sat when there was a warning pulse beneath his feet only moments before there was a knock at his door.  He stood, moving towards it moments before it swung open and a goblin rushed in.  Jareth glowered at the creature in disapproval.  While none of the goblins realized that Sarah was in fact 'the girl', they'd seen him getting married as an opportunity to be even more unruly than normal.  “Kinga!  There be ladies at the entrance.  Demanding to see you they is!”</p><p>Jareth called in a crystal, peering down into the reflective surface.  Three women and their escorts did, in fact, stand at the entranceway, dressed in fine, regal garments, hair coiffed, styled, and decked out with ornate ornaments.  He sighed heavily.  This had come sooner than he expected.</p><p>Former, spurned lovers.  Lovers from ages past, long before he'd caught his first glimpse of the lady Sarah in that park near her home.  “Caul, see them into the formal sitting room.  I'll prepare my bride for company.”  The girl's wardrobe had yet to be completed, and while several dresses were suitable for day wear, she had no clothing for guests who would be searching for any possible way to destroy her.</p><p>He turned the crystal and found Sarah was sitting in with one of the goblins, receiving what he supposed was a very off-skew history lesson and vanished from the spot, reappearing beside her.  “Lady Sarah.”  He kept his voice cool and impersonal, despite the fact that he could smell her lily-of-the-valley perfume and most of her shoulders were kept bare in the day dress she currently wore.</p><p>She looked up at him, her expression turning to one of anxiety.  “Is something wrong?”</p><p>He offered his hand.  “We've unexpected company, I'm afraid.”  He saw confusion flicker into her gaze and arched a brow.  “I hope you've had some lessons in deception since you've been here, Sarah.  You'll need them.”  He watched as with a sigh, she rested her hand in his own, and then her eyes widened as a much more ornate day dress was in place of the one she'd worn.  On her hands were small silk gloves which ended at her wrists.</p><p>He eyed his handiwork, amused at the stunned expression on her face.  The pale lavender dress accented her lovely eyes, the cream trim emphasizing her lovely décolletage, more of which was on display than in any other dress.  Her curves needed no accent, they were obvious enough without help, however lace curving inward at her waist gave the illusion that her waist was smaller still.  “Much better.  Come along, before they come hunting us.”</p><p>Sarah took an unsteady breath as the eyes of the Goblin King swept over her slender form.  She allowed her eyes to sweep over his own form, her throat closing a bit.  Damn him for being so devastatingly beautiful.  His hair had wisps of emerald green running through it, matching the emerald frock coat he wore.  A pale gold ruffle was at his throat.  His breeches were dark gray and he wore shining black leather on his feet and hands.  “Alright...”  She sighed, letting him pull her to her feet, trying to not be annoyed or offended by his changing of her clothing.  He was probably used to being allowed to treat women like a dress up Barbie doll, anyways.  Who was she to complain?  Besides, it was a lovely dress.</p><p>Once they'd left the room and her rather confusing lesson, he glanced down at her.  “These so called 'ladies' are out for blood.  I admit to have a brief affair with each of them long ago, however, it would appear that my being married threatens them.”</p><p>She was unsurprised by the admission, however he didn't have to say it like they were discussing nothing more than the weather.  “No doubt it especially offends them that you're wedding a mortal,” she quipped.  She allowed him to pull her arm through his own, certain that this was nothing more than show.</p><p>He gave her a funny look.  “Your insight into the situation is surprisingly keen.”  His hand rested upon her own as he guided her, leaning close to speak to her, pretending he didn't feel a thrill when she didn't lean away from him.  “It would be wise for you to utilize some of those acting skills you possess.  They must think that this was a mutual decision of ours, not us being cow-eyed by a lump of rock.”</p><p>She tensed slightly, glancing up at him, hiding her face.  “I...see.”  She took an unsteady breath.  So, basically, she'd have to let the veil over her feelings slip a bit and let him and others see some of the truth of the feelings.  “And you will be forced to act this part as well?”</p><p>His eyes met hers and there was a flash of...something before it was again hidden.  “Yes, I suppose so.”  He agreed.  He pushed open the door to the sitting room and led the girl within.  Sarah took in the woman's appearance and was suddenly glaringly aware of why Jareth had seen fit to change her clothing.  Each woman was so coiffed and ornately dressed it made her want to retch.  “Ladies...” he greeted, an air of mocking in his tone.  “May I present my bride, Lady Sarah...”</p><p>Sarah allowed Jareth to walk her to one of the wing-back chairs and sat in it, arranging her skirts before lifting her gaze and peering at him through the veil of her lashes.  “Thank you, sire.”  Her voice was a tad husky as she spoke, the restrained emotions pouring out.  She caught the faintest flash of surprise in his gaze, pleased she'd again managed to startle the man.  “Ladies.”  She kept her voice pleasant and polite.</p><p>“We were wondering what the girl who'd managed to catch the attention of the Goblin King looked like.”  They giggled behind their fans, waving themselves.  “We'd no idea she'd be a mortal.”  Bottle blue eyes flicked to the man who stood slightly behind her chair, alight with amusement.  “Really, Jareth, what are you thinking?”</p><p>Jareth wondered that himself before smiling indulgently.  “You see this lovely woman and you still see need to ask such a question?”</p><p>Sarah thought he sounded a bit too vague and airy for this to actually fool the girls.  “Perhaps I have something you lack, ladies.”  She said, her voice calm, serene.  “Funny how you view being mortal as a detriment.  From what I've heard, ladies of your...ilk have a habit of growing jaded and fail to appreciate simple things.”  She lifted her gaze, pinning them with a hard gaze.  “Not that it truly matters.”</p><p>Their gaze darkened, but they attempted to maintain their polite front.  “But truly, Jareth, while she is lovely, aren't you concerned she'll...fade away...I hear that mortals don't...stay the same.”</p><p>Sarah saw an expression screaming 'THANK GOD' in his eyes and managed to contain a smirk.</p><p>The Goblin King sighed dramatically, resting a hand upon her shoulder.  She felt a shiver work through her as his thumb began making circles on her shoulder, as though massaging out the tension.  “If the only reason the three of you came is to insult the future Goblin Queen, I'm afraid I must ask you to leave.”</p><p>One paled, stunned.  “We were simply expressing concern.  After all, whatever would happen should your affection fade because her face becomes lined with age-”</p><p>“And you well know that the Underground changes mortals.”  He lifted his gaze.  “You are merely trying to cause her harm.”</p><p>“We would never-”</p><p>“Liar,” he crooned, and Sarah saw him curl his hand at his side, a crystal appearing in his grip.  She jumped to her feet and whirled, gripping his wrists, saving the insufferable twits life.  She grappled with herself, seeing that cool, indifferent gaze turned to her.</p><p>“May I thank you, sire, for protecting me?”  She asked, mentally begging him to play along.  She saw confusion and then interest flash in his eyes before becoming a look of neutrality.  He gave an imperceptible nod and she swallowed hard, keeping a firm grip on his wrists as she pressed up onto her toes and placing a soft kiss to his lips.</p><p>The women sputtered behind her.  “Such tartish actions!  In front of company, no less!”</p><p>“What an appalling display!”</p><p>“We demand you cast this woman from your castle!  You deserve so much better!”</p><p>Sarah dropped back, pleased to notice that the man's eyes were slightly unfocused and very glazed.  She glanced back at the women.  “Like who?  You?”  She sent a signal to the Labyrinth and stomped her foot softly, and the maze caused the very stones in the castle to vibrate.  “He chose me, and the Labyrinth chose me as well.  Now be gone from our home!”</p><p>To her surprise, the three women disappeared on the spot.  She felt a amused sensation from beneath her feet and a picture of the three girls and their escorts standing outside the entrance was presented to her.  There was a cackle at her side and she turned, finding him bent over, laughing.  A faint smile turned up her own lips and she couldn't help a soft giggle of her own.  “Good god, they were awful.  You actually slept with them?”</p><p>“Mistakes of my youth, Sarah.”  He rubbed his temples, straightening.  “Shall we say I was encouraged to sew my royal oats.”  His expression became odd and he offered an arm.  “May I escort you to your next lesson, Lady Sarah?”</p><p>She looked away.  He was being courteous, but there was no feeling in it.  It was nothing more that doing a duty for him.  Much like marrying her.  She set her hand upon his arm, refusing to allow the intimacy of their arms twined together as they'd been on their walk to this brief meeting. She couldn't meet his gaze, so she never saw the discontent that flickered in his eyes.  He left her without a word at the entrance to the library, and she could only try to not let her emotions overwhelm her.  She reached up, lightly touching her still-tingling lips before she sighed and walked into the library, closing the door behind her.</p><p>0o0o0o0o0o0o0</p><p>Toby lay in his bed, tossing a ball into the air and catching it.  The dinner this evening, like every dinner before, had been strained and uncomfortable.  Gary tried to keep the conversation light and lively, as he always did, but eventually, the tension in the air wore even his boisterous personality down, leaving the flaming homosexual author picking at his beans, searching desperately for words.  </p><p>Sarah had been subdued since their arrival, usually sitting quietly, even when they were alone together.  It wasn't like her.  She was Sarah, his big sister.  She terrified bullies, but one jerk in tight pants shows up and everything he knew about her was being called into question.</p><p>He supposed everything she knew was being called into question.  After all, this coldly polite, restrained man is not who she described as the man she'd fallen in love with.  No, the Goblin King he'd always heard described was sensual, sarcastic, and as she called him, sinful.  The man he knew was none of these things.  He handled Sarah with a cool disregard, and while polite, he was hardly welcoming with the girl who'd given up her own life to keep two worlds safe.</p><p>No, Toby did not think he liked Jareth for his older sister.  Sarah was supposed to be vibrant, happy on her wedding day.  Not this, not like she'd been these past weeks.  Often in the evenings, she'd take walks out in the gardens, wearing an expression which greatly upset him.</p><p>On those evenings, she'd find a bench and pull out the little red leather book he knew contained the play called Labyrinth.  She'd look through the book for a long time, turning the pages and reading it, before she'd finally tuck it into the sleeve of her dress and head back to her rooms.  He always heard her door shut, and then the sounds of her crying.</p><p>He hated hearing her cry.</p><p>It had occurred to him that he could go complain to the Goblin King, however, that man was at least ninety percent of the problem.  So he'd talked about it with Gary, who was at a loss, as well as the goblins, who were far too fearful of their king to really do much of anything.  There didn't seem to be anyone who was willing to stand up against the man, especially not his sister.</p><p>He was not seeing the girl who'd held her own against the Goblin King.  He was seeing a woman who was having her heart broken slowly.  He wouldn't stand for it.  There had to be some way to help his sister, stop this man from continuing to hurt her.</p><p>With a frustrated and angry sigh, he threw the ball at the wall and there was a sharp pulse beneath his feet, as if chastising him.  “Holy hell!”  He jerked his feet up onto his bed, staring at the floor, stunned.  Nothing happened for a long moment, so he set his feet down once again.  He'd felt strange things since he'd come here, had noticed that the stones around him seemed to, oddly enough, pulse.  Never before, however, had it given him the impression that it was annoyed, however.</p><p>Once his feet were on the floor again, he felt a faint vibration, as though those stones were laughing at him.  It came as something of a shock to realize that the Labyrinth was...communicating with him.  His head ached as a picture flashed into his head, showing him jerking his feet off the floor and swearing as he had a moment ago.  It was like a movie played with no sound, but he could feel emotion behind it.</p><p>“This is officially the weirdest thing that has every happened to me.”  He muttered, and felt that amused pulse once again.  With a sigh, he glanced out the window, annoyed.  “I don't suppose you're willing to give me some idea of how to deal with the fact that my sister is unhappy, do you?”</p><p>A picture of Sarah flashed into his head, followed by one of Jareth.  This little montage was ended by a picture of a river winding through a desert, with pyramids in the background.  Toby choked, realizing what the maze was trying to tell him, and bent over, laughing.  When the laughter finally subsided, he wiped the tears from his eyes and took a steadying breath.  “Denial, huh.  Nice.  So, if they're both in denial, how does he feel about her?”</p><p>Another picture popped into his head, revealing a picture of his sister being tightly embraced by the Goblin King.</p><p>Toby frowned deeply.  “So he does like her, at the very least.  If he does, why is he being such a prick?”</p><p>A confused pulse, and a picture of a needle pricking someone's skin was sent to him, as if in askance.</p><p>He grinned.  “What I mean is...why is he not being nice to her.  Doesn't he want her to like him?”</p><p>An affirmative response, followed by a wealth of confusion and upset from the Labyrinth as well.  “So you're upset and confused by this too?”  He sighed, flopping back.  “Denial...I wonder if it's as simple as that...”  Toby wondered as he finally began to doze off.</p><p>Just as he faded, a picture of his sister and the Goblin King trapped in a part of the Labyrinth came to his mind and he snorted.  “Hm...that could work.  We should...try that out...sometime...”  He finally fell the last bit into deep sleep, never noticing when the blankets pulled themselves up and over him...</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter Five</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A loud shriek of fury woke most of the castle on the morning of the wedding.  Even in a separate wing, Jareth stirred, arching an elegant brow when he heard the sound of feet pounding over stone.  It was as if she'd made an agreement with the Labyrinth to make the volume significantly louder than it should be.  He sighed, propping himself up on an elbow even as his door flew open, followed by an extremely perturbed Sarah Williams.  He took the moment to examine her closely.</p><p>She was dressed only in a thin chemise, her face dark red with anger, her green eyes glittering brightly in defiance.  She was the very picture of rebellion.  He thought she looked rather fetching like that.  His eyes landed upon her hair and he fairly purred in pleasure.  It had been a point of contention since she'd arrived.  She woke every morning, her short hair suddenly much longer than when she went to bed.  Usually, long before he had the chance to see her, it had been cut off once again, to a near boyishly short length.</p><p>He wanted her hair long, he liked her hair long.</p><p>She stood there, shaking in fury.  “I've tried to deal with this...”  She snarled, her voice barely human.  “I've tried to be a good sport about it.  I haven't said a damn thing about it and I've simply dealt with the problem, but god dammit, Jareth, it's my fucking hair!”</p><p>He wiped a grin from his mouth, rolling to face her fully, propping his head on his hand.  “It will be easier to style in a fashion suiting a queen if it is long.”  He explained away.  Lightening flashed in those delightful green eyes and he fought the urge to smirk at her temper.  She was lovely when she was angry.</p><p>“It's easier to manage, wash, and keep out of my way when it's short!  Not to mention it's not as heavy and, oh, yeah, I like it short!”  She raged, moving towards him, her hands held in a manner that spoke that she greatly desired to wrap those small digits around his throat and put as much pressure as she could upon it.</p><p>“You're going to be a queen, Sarah.  The least you could do is try to look the part.”  He tossed a little extra disdain into his voice as he spoke to her.  He watched that lightening flash again and before he could say anything, a knife was in her hand and she had gripped her hair, slicing roughly through the strands, as hard as she could.  It took several good whacks with the blade before the last strands of long brown silk fell to his bedroom floor.</p><p>She heaved for breath, her hands shaking in her fury.  She adjusted her grip on the knife and threw it with pin point accuracy at one of the posts of his bed, lodging into the center.  All he could do was arch an eyebrow as she attempted to calm herself.  “That...could be viewed as an act of war.”</p><p>She whirled away from him, pacing the floor, unaware that her hair was already growing back.  It was a clever bit of magic on his part.  Whenever she was angry or upset, especially with him, her hair would grow longer.  He doubted she noticed during the day that her hair was growing.  She must spend a great deal of time thinking about him, he'd decided, and he didn't care about the knowledge that the lady was most assuredly furious with him while he was on her mind, simply because he was on her mind.</p><p>“I know you're used to getting your way.  You've made that...well, sickeningly obvious since I arrived.  But dammit, I let you play dress-up-doll with me when you think I'm under-dressed, I let you put glamor spells and horrid ornaments on my person to make me seem more attractive, but hair is personal, Goblin King!”</p><p>He hid a smug grin.  “Indeed?”  He kept his voice calm.  “Is it?”</p><p>Fire lit those eyes and he knew he was in trouble.  That was affirmed when he felt his head grow extremely light.  Reaching up, he lightly touched his head.  He swallowed to contain his own fury.  “Dare I look in a mirror?”</p><p>“You want me to look more like a queen?  Well, I've always been curious how you'd look bald.”  That last word was thrown out as she turned on her heal and stormed out of the room.</p><p>He glanced towards his mirror and grinned faintly.  “One has to admire her vindictive streak when she's pissy,” he murmured, even as he gazed at his head, which was covered in only a baby-soft coat of vellum hair.  “Well, at least it should all be fun...”</p><p>0o0o0o0o0o0o0</p><p>“The nerve of him!”  She hissed in annoyance as she threw the door to her room open once again.  At least she'd gotten to take her temper out on him.  She was relatively certain, however, that there would be some sort of retribution required for using that particular spell to zap his hair.  She loved it so much she couldn't bring herself to go to skin as she did on her legs.</p><p>She'd gotten the spell from her brother, who had gone to the king on the behalf of himself and Gary's continued clean-shaved faces.  Still, if he could decide how to mess with her own hair, she could mess with his, too, dammit.</p><p>She'd long since learned the adage that you don't mess with a man's hair.  Things tended to get serious in stories when a man was parted with his hair.  Still, he'd started it.  Not just once in awhile, every morning, she'd wake up with her hair longer than the day before.  She flopped down in front of her vanity, picking up her brush, and stopped, staring at herself.  Her hair was almost as long as it had been when she'd first waken that morning.</p><p>Tears of anger and frustration filled her.  “That...JERK!”  She snapped.  She briefly entertained the idea of whacking off the tresses once more, but her brain betrayed her and she saw the look on his face when she'd burst into his room.  The violating caress his eyes had made, from head to toes, lingering on her hair.  Was it possible that he had cast the spell simply because his preference was for her to have long hair?  Were his barbs regarding looking like a queen nothing more than a ruse to distract her?</p><p>She had no idea.  She sighed, lifting the brush and pulling it through her hair gently.  She'd first cut it short a few years back, finding it easier to clean and maintain.  Still, her preference had always been for it to be long.  It simply galled that rather than let it grow out naturally, rather than ask her if she wanted it long, he'd simply poofed her long hair back as it had been thirteen years ago.</p><p>“If he'd just...asked or something...”</p><p>“Long hair again?”</p><p>She glanced back, finding Gary walking in wearing a very nice suit of crushed black velvet with cream colored ruffles.  “I cut it five minutes ago.”  She said mournfully.  “Nearly all the way to the scalp.  Yet now it looks as though I did nothing.  Except I have rough edges.”  She glanced at the ends of her hair and sighed softly.</p><p>“I've gotta say, girl, long hair always suited you better.”  He pulled a pair of scissors from a drawer in her vanity and pulled it over the back of her hair, straightening the ends.  “It gives you a wild look when it's not brushed that makes you look a bit like a gypsy.  I never liked that you kept it short.”</p><p>“It was easier to manage.”</p><p>“I know, that's why I never said you should grow it out.  I'd imagine it took a job which ordinarily took several hours and cut them short to a few minutes.”  He was silent as he finished straightening her hair and began braiding it, seemingly for fun.  “So, what sort of revenge did you set upon our fair king?”</p><p>She bit back a grin.  “You know that hair removal spell he gave you and Toby for your facial hair.”</p><p>“That thing is a god-send.  I use it on a great deal more than just facial hair.  I'd imagine you've been using it on your legs and underarms, too.”</p><p>“I used it on Jareth's scalp.”</p><p>The silence was a bit deafening.  “All of that lovely silvery hair?!  You just poofed his head bald?!”</p><p>He looked so horrified, she couldn't suppress a giggle.  “I left a little...”  She said vaguely.  His expression turned even more shocked and stunned and finally, a laugh escaped her.  She shook her head for a long minute.  “I don't know how to explain it, Gary.  For about five minutes, it was like thirteen years ago, standing up against him from the opposite side of a mental chess board.”</p><p>“You look happier than I've seen you since we've been here.”  The writer smiled faintly, tugging on the braid gently.  “Maybe that jerk isn't as awful for you as Toby's been saying.”  Gary began finger combing her hair out once more and twisting it into a rope.  “He hears you cry at night.”</p><p>Sarah sighed softly, leaning back.  “That man just makes me so mad,” she muttered, playing with a few of the baubles she'd brought from home.  “Just being two inches away from him while he's acting all cold and indifferent makes me feel inadequate and reminds me that I'd been a moment from accepting his offer back then.  Now that I know it was just a ruse, I'm glad I didn't.”</p><p>“I'm not so sure it was a ruse, sweety.”  He grabbed a scrunchy from her vanity table and wrapped it around the end of her hair.  “You don't see the looks he gives you when you're not looking.”  He finished up and came around, kneeling in front of her and taking her hands.  “Maybe if you really want to break down those walls he's putting up, you should be that sweet and sassy girl I know is inside you somewhere.  Being dispassionate has never suited you.”</p><p>She gave a half-smile, which fell after a moment.  “I don't know, Gary.  This just...it's not how I pictured my life.”</p><p>“What?  Marrying the finest piece of ass in either realm?  Sarah, you could have done much worse.  Remember Steve?”</p><p>She shuddered.</p><p>“Exactly.  Now, for you it's been thirteen years of memories and fantasies, and maybe your mind romanticized him a bit.  Consider this, though.  For him, it's been about a month.  His last memory of you before you woke him up was likely you rejecting him.  If it wasn't a ruse, I'm pretty sure it would have hurt, but he wont let you see that, because he's proud.”</p><p>Sarah chewed on that for a minute before there was a knock at the door.  She rose to answer it and Gary dusted himself off, standing as well.  Several goblins swept in, carrying a gown which was wrapped in paper to keep their hands off of it.  One or two of them gave her a look of intense disapproval when they noticed Gary in her room.</p><p>“The scribe needs his fitting.”  One goblin croaked, giving them the strongest look of disapproval.</p><p>Gary sighed dramatically.  “I suddenly understand why he kicks them.”  He whispered in her ear.  “Well, Sarah dear, keep your chin up and think about seducing that hot piece of ass on the wedding night.”  He moved out of the room blowing her a kiss from the door.</p><p>Her stomach dropped out at his words.  Seduce the Goblin King?!  That little queer must be dreaming.  She began to pace restlessly as the goblins left the room.  She closed and bolted the door behind the last one and set herself back to wearing a hole in the lovely rug in the middle of the room.  With a despondent sigh, she walked towards the dress they'd brought to her this time.  Gently, she peeled back the paper and her breath caught.  </p><p>It was likely the finest fabric she'd ever seen.  She rushed into the small bathroom and washed her hands, drying them well before she let herself touch it.  She lifted it carefully, afraid that handling it with anything more than the most delicate touch would have it disintegrating between her fingers.  It felt light, airy, and the stitch work was so fine she couldn't find the seams.  Swallowing roughly, she lifted the dress to her chest, moving to look at herself in the long mirror which was in her room.</p><p>The dress caught the sunlight and shimmered with opalescence.  She could see tiny pearls and glass beads sewn to the front of the dress.  There was a faint almost invisible wisp of lace to hold the dress up – cap sleeves at each shoulder.  She could see layers of lace beneath the dress creating volume for the skirt.</p><p>“Then you like it?”</p><p>She gave a faint shriek and spun, her hands reflexively releasing the dress.  Jareth stood, leaning against the entrance to her room, his hair once again long and wild and disheveled.  He flicked a hand, catching the dress on mid-air before it could hit the ground.  He floated the dress over to the bed, letting it rest upon the mattress.  Her heart pounded as she stared at him, Gary's parting words surging through her brain and making her feel both tingly with excitement and dread.  Those mis-matched eyes pinned her, barely an emotion showing in them.</p><p>She swallowed the hurt at being looked at like that by him.  “It's lovely.”  She admitted, turning away from him, not wanting him to see upset in her eyes.  She heard his boots fall on the floor.  “I...I though I locked the door.”</p><p>“A bolt doesn't mean much, Sarah.  I can pass through the door, teleport into your room, and I'm quite skilled at picking locks.”  She felt his fingers lift the long rope her hair had become and a tremor raced through her.  She could feel his heat at her back.  “What is this fabric thing around your hair?”</p><p>“It's a scrunchy.”  She muttered.  “It's fabric around a little elastic band.  We use them in the Above to keep hair contained.”</p><p>“It is unsuited to your status.”</p><p>“You're the one who insisted I have long hair.”  She snapped back.  “I like my scrunchies, if you poof-”  She was a moment too late.  She turned her head, finding a lovely silver clasp containing the rope.  Upset burned through her and finally she turned, shoving him away.  He looked surprised at the violence in the action but her fury was too busy burning through her for her to care.  The anger and upset that had been present near constantly since she'd found the Goblin King in her life again ripped through her heart as always.</p><p>“Sarah-”</p><p>“I am not a damn dress-up doll!”  She finally yelled.  “I didn't complain about your constant 'adjusting' of my clothing to suit you.  I waited weeks before I complained about my hair.  But you're going too damn far, Goblin King!”</p><p>He was surprised at the outburst.  Then his brow furrowed in annoyance.  “Dammit, woman-”</p><p>“You keep saying that this and that is not suited for my status!”  She began pacing like a caged animal.  “What status?!  I'm a figure head!  I'm cornered into this situation to keep my friends here and Above safe!  Do you think I want to be here?!”  A harsh laugh escaped her.  “I want this as much as you do, which considering the way you've been treating me is not much!”</p><p>The annoyance turned into blazing fury.  “How would you have me treat you, Sarah?  Like I am in love with you?  Like you're all I want or need?!  Too bad, Precious.”  The word which should have been an endearment was spat out with malevolence.  “I never wanted you to begin with!  You were just a means to keep the boy!”</p><p>Sarah felt every word as though it were a physical blow.  She turned away from him to hide the tears in her eyes.  Every illusion Gary had tried to build shattered around her like glass.  It took several moments before she could make herself speak.  “I suppose that's for the best, then.”  She said quietly.  “It's not like I had any feelings for you either.”</p><p>The words were spoken with as little emotion as she could muster.  They were a lie.  She kept her jaw set and refused to turn to face him.  A means to an end.  Just like now.  Tears spilled down her face.  She took a deep breath, amazed that there was no hitching sensation.  “Get out.”</p><p>“I beg your pardon-”</p><p>“I don't care if you beg for my heart.  Get out.”  She bit out.  She didn't hear him move and grabbed the nearest object, preparing to throw it.  As she turned, she found herself in an empty room.  Still, she threw the vase as hard as she could at the door.  It shattered, splintering into hundreds of pieces.</p><p>She walked toward the dress, tempted to shred that as well, however it was far too lovely.  She lifted the dress carefully, putting it on the dress form which had been brought into her room with it.  She looked at it for a long moment, even as she stood there crying, wiping her tears away in a clumsy manner.  She was right.  It didn't matter.  It was simply her duty to marry him.  So she would do what she had to, be a dutiful queen.</p><p>But she'd never let herself think again that he actually cared for her.  She was merely a queen.  Not a wife.  And she'd be damned if she fulfilled the duties of a wife when she was treated as a burden.</p><p>0o0o0o0o0o0o0</p><p>He'd taken it too far.  The following days made that brutally clear.</p><p>Sarah had given him back the silver hair clasp at her first opportunity, which was at dinner.  Her face had been in an expression of schooled neutrality.  Not even her eyes had shown anything during the meal.  She had eaten a small amount of food and asked her brother to accompany her for a walk in the garden.</p><p>The day of the wedding was rapidly approaching, but Sarah was hardly the blushing bride.  There was nothing about her that was blushing or bride-like.  She did not handle the details of the wedding, explaining that she had too much to learn about running a kingdom to worry about little things like what color table cloths, and what lilies she wanted in her bouquet.</p><p>Now, it was the night before and Jareth was laying in his own bed, staring at the ceiling, cursing himself.  He'd told her a bald-faced lie and was now faced with the brutal facts about how she felt about him.  Had he kept his mouth shut, he could have at least held on to the hope that Sarah might feel for him someday as much as he felt for her.</p><p>She'd just made him so angry.  He'd tried to give her nice things, dresses suitable for a queen, but she preferred to wear her t-shirts and jeans when lounging in her room, and even sometimes to walk in the gardens.  He gave her back the long hair she'd once worn since she didn't have to worry about maintaining it herself.  Others could brush and comb and even wash it if she wanted.</p><p>That blasted scrap of fabric had been an eyesore.  He'd simply wanted to give her an ornament that she may like, which was appropriate for a queen.  And she'd flown off the handle, saying he was treating her like a dress-up-doll.  She'd rubbed into his face the fact that she didn't want to be here.  That she was only marrying him as a duty.</p><p>She didn't have to make that so clear to the rest of the castle as well.</p><p>Now she was stealing his much needed sleep the night before what should have been the happiest day of his life.  He was getting the only woman he'd ever offered himself to.  However, he only had her because she had no choice.  With an aggravated growl, he launched himself out of his bed and felt the despondence beneath his feet.  A picture of Sarah presented itself to him, of her laying on her bed, face down, her shoulders shaking.</p><p>He swore viciously, walking out to the hall, stalking through them and stopping at Sarah's door.  He could hear her sobs loud and clear here.  He lifted his hand to knock, but it dropped, boneless, long before it ever hit the door.  If he knocked, he would only be making it worse.  His hands fisted at his sides and he walked stiffly to his office, pulling a large bottle of cognac from the desk and pouring a hefty helping.</p><p>There was a whine from the Labyrinth and he swore.  “What would you have me do?!” he snapped at it.  It provided him with a picture of him holding Sarah in what he figured the Labyrinth thought would be a comforting manner.  Jareth shook his head.  “No.  You don't understand.  It is our fault she is laying there crying.  My presence would cause no peace.”</p><p>He downed the glass, before falling back into the chair behind the desk and pouring another hefty glass.  He turned it carefully, his heart twisting in pain.  “I should never have said something like that to her,” he lamented, watching he amber liquid swirl inside the cup.</p><p>There was a very emphatic response of 'No shit' from beneath him and he smiled ruefully.  “Well, here's a toast, then.”  He lifted a glass to his lips and licked the rim lightly.  “To Sarah.  Boy, can we pick them.  Can't we, you over grown lump of rock.”</p><p>He sat up for many hours, until exhaustion had him collapsing in his bed only an hour before the sun rose, heralding his wedding day.  </p><p>Well cleaned goblins arrived to help him dress less than two hours after he passed out.  He was ushered into a scalding shower, before the goblins began to style his hair.  Then they were forcing his still lethargic body into his wedding clothes.  It wasn't a big surprise they'd chosen his imposing goblin armor.  It had been polished to a shine, and they'd picked a satisfactory shirt of black velvet.  The cloak had been replaced for the occasion, heavy black velvet with blue silk lining.  Black wool breeches and boots polished to an almost mirror shine.</p><p>Yes, his goblins had out done themselves.</p><p>Jareth took a look in the mirror and found that while his clothing and hair were immaculate, his face looked weary and war-torn.  Large bags hung beneath his eyes, revealing his lack of sleep the night before.  A wave of his hand took care of that, casting a glamor over his features, hiding his exhaustion.</p><p>He left the room, going to wait as expected down in the garden selected for the wedding.</p><p>He accepted the congratulations from many of the guests, ignoring the rude remarks from others.  Not too much later, a troubled Gary appeared pacing restlessly.  He wore a pale blue velvet frock coat, and his hands were tucked behind his back.  It amused Jareth that the male did not notice the veiled looks of interest from several of the ladies of the court.  He worked his way towards his queen's scribe.  “Is there a problem?”</p><p>Gary turned towards him.  “Don't worry, she hasn't fled.”  He still didn't look happy.  “It's in my nature to worry about her.  She's my best friend...”  He looked away.  “She just...isn't happy.”</p><p>Jareth glanced away.  “You expected her to be?  It's not like this is what either of us had planned in our lives-”</p><p>“Sarah has wanted to be married for as long as I've known her.  But she wanted to be marrying for love, not duty!”  The whisper was harsh with upset.  “And it's not as though you've given her much reason to be happy.  You can't even be bothered to spare her a compliment!”</p><p>It came as something of a surprise when the man sniffled and then waved a hand in a decidedly feminine manner.  Then, he walked away to go collect himself.</p><p>With a shrug, Jareth walked up next to the holy man who would be performing the ritual.  The man had a point.  He had been harsh with Sarah since she arrived here.  Likely unnecessarily so.  It really would not kill him to try to be a little kind.  He didn't have to let her back into his heart, he didn't have to tell her his feelings.  He could simply be kind.</p><p>“Something wrong with your best man?”</p><p>“He's not my best man.  That's the maid of honor.”  Jareth said in amusement.</p><p>Two blue eyes bugged in shock, but before the man could speak, a quiet melody began and Jareth looked up the aisle.  The procession began, led by Gary, who took a seat on the brides side of the aisle, his face already cleaned up and freshened.  Faeries began moving down the aisle, sprinkling wild flowers along the path before the bride stepped forward.</p><p>She stood at Toby's side, wearing a many layered veil of what he could only presume to be made of spider threads.  He couldn't see her face through it.  Toby led her down the aisle, dressed in a suit of dark ocean blue, with pale blue accents.  His eyes locked with Jareth's, a challenging expression on the boy's face, as though daring Jareth to deny him the right to stand in support of his sister.</p><p>Jareth said nothing, merely watching them move towards him.  He kept his face calm and collected, trying not to notice how that dress embraced every curve of her body like a friend.  He felt himself salivating a bit, his mind entertaining thoughts of peeling that lovely dress from her flesh and taking her to his bed that evening.  She paused to kiss her brother's cheek and then walked into the circle herself; her head was lowered.</p><p>The man before them began speaking.  Jareth didn't hear the words, he was too busy stealing glances at his bride, who seemed to be trembling.  Not much later, their hands were bound by a long white ribbon.  Now he could feel how hard she was shaking.  When declared he could kiss his bride, he lifted her veil and leaned forward, preparing for a dutiful kiss, as was expected.  However, he saw the tears on her face and it fed his own anger and upset and so he pressed his lips hard against hers, slipping his free hand behind her neck, holding her steady.</p><p>He expected her other hand to come up to push him away.  Instead, it came and rested lightly against his chest, providing little resistance.  Her lips remained passive, not responding, simply allowing him to ply her mouth open and plunder it.  He broke away, furious with her.  However, when he looked at her, all he saw were fresh tears staining her cheeks.  He put his lips close to her ears.  “I'm putting a glamor on your face.”  He said calmly.  “Try to smile as we leave.”  He brushed a tear away with his finger and led her back up the aisle, the ceremony ending.</p><p>Once they were out of sight of the guests, Sarah immediately removed the ribbon which bound their arms and moved away from him.  Jareth caught her wrist, not letting her leave.  She went very still, but refused to look at him.  “Sarah, must you continue to fight me,” he asked, weary.</p><p>She turned towards him, her eyes expressionless.  “That is how it's always been between us.  Why should it change now?”</p><p>“I'm not telling you to love me.”  He kept his voice cool.  “I'm merely stating that it would be best if we showed a unified front in public at the very least.  We must keep up appearances.”  He saw despair in her eyes and wanted to swear.  “Sarah-”</p><p>“For the sake of the kingdom I shall do my best.”  She said softly.  He felt pain surge through him, catching him off guard.  </p><p>He wanted to swear and rage, but instead, lifted the hand he held, kissing the back of it lightly.  “You should go rest before the reception.  It will likely be long and tiring.”  He saw those dead green eyes lift to him and released her hand, then turned his back, heading to his own quarters before he said or did something else foolish.  Once the door was between them, he leaned against the wood, lightly thumping his head back.  “Dammit, woman, stop making me hurt you,” he whispered fiercely, pressing the ball of his hand to his forehead.</p><p>Meanwhile, Sarah moved into the quarters she knew she was expected to enter.  The queen's chambers.  They were lush, golds and greens.  She saw a door she presumed led to their shared sitting room and felt her stomach quiver in apprehension.  Fearfully, she hugged herself and looked into her mirror.  Evidentially, her new husband had dropped the glamor when they'd been in a more private setting.  Her face was streaked with tears, her lips slightly bruised from the nearly brutal kiss he'd given her to seal their vows.</p><p>Slowly, her fingers lifted, brushing the swollen flesh.  She'd caught the faintest flash of intense fury in his gaze before his lips had captured hers.  It had hurt.  Both the sham of a wedding and the pressure he'd placed upon her mouth.  She'd remained passive, not letting the guests see how badly she wanted to push him away, to slap him.</p><p>She was no coward.  She was anything but.  Before walking down the aisle, her brother had given her a little pep-talk, reminding her of that fact.  Too often lately, she'd been cowed by the man who made it painfully clear that he did not love her.  Thirteen years of fantasy and repressed sexual frustration, and this is where she ends up.  Cornered into a loveless marriage, bound to a man who seemed more interested in changing his clothing than saying sorry for his damn pet who was growing more and more quiet these days.  She'd get a pulse of upset here and-</p><p>Speaking of which.</p><p>A picture of the Goblin King popped into her mind, leaning against the door to his room, his eyes closed, his face unhappy.  There was a sensation of whining from the Labyrinth.</p><p>“There's nothing I can do.”  She said as she marched over to her vanity table, pulling out some eye drops, to take the redness from her eyes, before carefully cleaning her face.  She would keep her promise.  She would play the part of the queen, the willing bride.  In public, she would pretend, for the sake of the Labyrinth, her friends and family.</p><p>She would wear this mask he asked of her.  She would smile.  She would act like this was voluntary.</p><p>But she would not let down her guard, she would not fall for this man.  He had shattered those treasured illusions, those fantasies she'd born for him.  He'd taken her hopeful heart this month and crushed it beneath the sole of his boot.</p><p>There was a tentative knock on the door, and she moved towards it.  “Just a minute.”  She pushed it open and found Hoggle staring up at her.  His eyes were upset, and he was twisting his hat in his hands.  “Hoggle!”  She whispered in joy, dropping down and embracing him.  “What are you doing here?!”</p><p>“I was...coming ta make sure yer alrigh'.  Noticed the waterworks during the ceremony.  Did he...make ya do this, Sarah?”</p><p>She gripped the dwarf's hands.  “No, dear friend.”  She sighed, uncertain what to say.  “The Labyrinth chose me, none of this was his doing.  He made it very clear he didn't want me-”  Her throat tried to close around the words and she swallowed, shaking her head and forcing a smile.  The dwarf was giving her a funny look.  “He's really as much a victim as I am, Hoggle.”  She said softly.  “You should go on to the reception.  I'm sure there's some good ale or such there.  The goblins will have made sure of it.”</p><p>The dwarf gave her hands a brief squeeze.  “Should ya need me-”</p><p>“I know.”  She kissed the top of his head lightly, and watched him go on his way.  She could hear the sounds of the beginnings of the reception and longed for nothing more than to disappear and hide in her room for the rest of the evening.  But she had a part to play, even if it felt lousy to let everyone see the truth of the feelings she'd had for the man for thirteen years while knowing that this relationship was nothing more than a sham.  She turned to return to her room, but found the Goblin King looking at her, his eyes unreadable.</p><p>“Be still, my villainous heart.  Did you just defend me, Sarah?”</p><p>There was a slightly teasing quality to his voice, and a wistfulness she was almost certain she imagined.  “I merely spoke the truth.  It's not like you held a gun to my head.”  She muttered, turning her face away from him, embarrassed that he'd seen.</p><p>“I may as well have.”  He sounded serious.  “Do you truly not blame me for this?  Or was that some of your superb acting for a friend so they would not worry for you?”</p><p>She looked towards him.  “You did not make me marry you.  It is no more your fault that the Labyrinth wanted me than it is anyone else's.  It is a sentient being, and it made a decision.  As did I.”  A leather gloved hand came to rest on her bare arm and she swallowed hard.  “We should go to the reception.”  She said quietly.</p><p>“Sarah-”</p><p>“You need not worry.  I will play my part well.  It's something I've always been good at, as you well know.”  She quietly stepped back, slipping her arm through his, giving the illusion of intimacy, even as she maintained a calm exterior.</p><p>The man beside her sighed.  “We will talk later, Sarah.  For now, however, I'll concede defeat.  If we're gone much longer, there will be speculation and as the hosts, it would be terribly rude of us...”  He rested his other hand atop the one of hers which rested on his, even as that one turned, lacing his fingers through her own.</p><p>She let him guide her through the halls, towards the din of the reception.  As they entered, flower petals were tossed into the air along with glittering little gems.  She smiled graciously, accepting the congratulations she received.  She could see the women who'd visited nearly three weeks ago, standing in a group, wearing petulant pouts and kept her back straight, even as their fathers ushered them forward to offer congratulations.</p><p>“Do not whine.  Marriage is not a promise of fidelity!  The king will likely take mistresses, so do not fret-”</p><p>Sarah tuned out the words, pretending to not hear.  They were right.  They had not vowed to be faithful towards each other. The words spoken in the ceremony were only that.  This was a union based on protecting two worlds from a pile of stone which often times reminded her of a child or small animal.  It did not understand why it's masters were upset, it only understood that they were.</p><p>A few men slapped Jareth on the back.  “I assume you'll be announcing the coming of an heir in a few weeks time!”  They joked and Sarah bit back a nasty remark.</p><p>Jareth answered smoothly.  “Perhaps.  Before we go about producing offspring left and right, a sufficient amount of planning must be involved.  Besides, it might be nice to enjoy my queen without being kicked in the process.”</p><p>The amusement in his voice disgusted her.  She glanced towards him and saw him glancing at her as well, with equal amusement.  Yet the look in his eyes speculated that it would not be the child kicking him, but her.  He'd better believe it.  She had no desire to produce an heir for the kingdom any time soon.  From what she'd learned she'd have a minimum of fifty fertile years left.</p><p>Best she could tell, there was no rush.</p><p>They did all that was expected of them during the reception.  Sarah shared the first dance with Jareth, and the following dances with her brother and then Gary, before sitting, claiming to be weary.  Sparkling wines were brought to her, food offered, until finally she and Jareth shared a piece of the extravagant wedding cake that she supposed probably cost half the kingdom's treasure to commission.</p><p>It was a long, arduous process, which didn't seem to end too soon.  Unsurprisingly, Jareth spent as much time as was possible moving around, chatting up friends and old acquaintances, leaving her mostly alone, despite the small circle of friends there.  Hoggle and Sir Didymus came in their finest clothes, Ludo had a tab-style tie around his great neck.  They spoke with her as if no time at all had passed, ruffling Toby's hair as though he were still a child, earning indignant looks from the teen.</p><p>It went on for hours, before the end was finally in sight.  Jareth came over, obviously looking to escape, which was fine with her as well.  He offered a hand and she lowered her gaze, feeling every eye in the place upon her.  Feeling shy and fearful, she set her hand upon his own, letting him pull her to her aching feet.</p><p>“I suggest we make a swift and silent exit, lest we be assaulted by more well-wishers.”  He said in a conspirators way which made her almost forget that this was all just a ruse.  She gave a shy nod, and let him lead her to the door.  She ignored Gary's tearful thumbs up from across the room.</p><p>The walk back to the rooms felt equally as long.  It was unsurprising when he led her to his door.  She felt her stomach twist with her nerves, even as he drew her into the room.  Again, she was taken by the loveliness of the room.  It was all blues and whites, sky where her own chambers were earth.  When the door shut behind her, she jumped, pulling away from him and plastering herself back to the door.  Her throat was dry as he moved towards her.</p><p>“Shall I assist you?”</p><p>She pressed back harder.  “N-not necessary.”  She managed, shying away from his fingers as he came closer still.  Before she could become trapped, she went sideways, rushing towards the door that joined their rooms.  It slammed shut before she could reach it.  Before she she could spin again, nimble, gloved fingers began tugging at the laces which held the dress taut.</p><p>“Really?  Then you intend to undress yourself?  That would be awkward and unseemly, however if you insist, I'm sure watching would be highly...educational.”</p><p>She could tell by the sound of his voice that he meant 'entertaining'.  The dress was swept open and she felt a soft kiss placed upon the part of her shoulder where it met with her neck and she trembled, choking on her words.  She fisted her hands at her sides as a tear fell down her face.  No.  No.</p><p>This was all wrong.</p><p>While his touch was gentle and nearly coaxing, she could only feel nauseous as he kissed up the slender column of her throat and beneath her ear.  His hands turned her as he slipped his fingers along the delicate lace at her shoulders.  “Jareth-”</p><p>His lips moved along her collarbone, down over the swell of her breasts.  She ground her teeth together, even as her body began to respond to the stimulation.  A second tear followed the first and when a hand slid to her chest, cupping and fondling her breast, she finally reacted, shoving the man away from her as hard as she could before her hand met with his cheek.</p><p>He stood frozen, staring down at her, stunned.  The look of shock, however, was quickly dying and giving way to intense fury.  “What the devil-”</p><p>“Don't touch me!”  She kept her voice down, even though what she wanted to do was scream and rage at him.  Teary-eyed, she held her dress up protectively unable to meet his gaze.  “Don't...”</p><p>His hand, which had been covering the place she'd struck him, reached towards her, hesitating when she drew back further.  “Sarah, I will not harm you-”</p><p>She scoffed.  “Damn right you won't, because you're not going to touch me.”</p><p>His brow furrowed in irritation.  “What the devil is wrong with you?!”</p><p>She darted away from him when he tried to put hand on her again.  Her heart ached, her body throbbed, but she wasn't giving in on this one.</p><p>“Sarah, this is ridiculous.  It's the wedding night.  Do you not plan on consummating the marriage?”</p><p>She stared into the fire for a long time, still holding the dress up.  “I'm not consummating anything.”</p><p>“I understand you're scared, but I will not cause you pain when I penetrate you-”</p><p>“You could put it a little more delicately.  Besides, who said anything about fear or pain.  I am putting it simply.  You.  Will not.  Touch me.”  She kept her back straight, face neutral.</p><p>“Sarah, virgins are always frightened-”</p><p>“I never said I was a virgin.”</p><p>There was a flash of...something in his eyes before it was carefully hidden.  “I see.  So you'll have sex with those from your own world, but not with your husband.”</p><p>Before she knew she'd crossed the room, she had lifted her hand to strike him once again.  Tears pierced her eyes, slipping free before she could regain control.  After a moment frozen like that, staring up into eyes which fully expected the strike, she dropped her hand and paced away.  “So, a girl has sex once and suddenly she's a whore.  Thanks, Jareth.  You really know how to make a girl feel like shit.”</p><p>He swore viciously.  “Dammit, woman-”</p><p>“For your information, while I was in college and you were locked in a moment in time, people started deciding that slipping girls a mickey was a good way to have sex without having to worry about a relationship.  In order to prevent my first time being the result of such an experience...”  She slanted him with a look of sheer fury.  “I went to a male friend whom I trusted and asked him to relieve me of the burden of my virginity.  It was easier to bear the possibility of rape when pared with the knowledge that at least it wasn't the first time.”</p><p>Jareth ground his teeth together.  “And this male friend did not become emotionally involved?”</p><p>She gave him a look of annoyed patience.  “The male friend was Gary.”  She saw the understanding dawn upon his face and she looked away.  “It was very difficult for him.  He is not attracted to women.  It was done as a favor, which I am still paying him back for.”</p><p>“Then what's the problem here?”</p><p>“You're not my friend, you're barely an acquaintance.  I don't know you, and I'm not having sex with you because of a duty.  I'll kiss you in public, I'll do all the other little pleasantries expected of me, and I'll even sleep in that bed to fool others into thinking that I did sleep with you...but I will not have sex with you.”</p><p>Jareth stood there for a long moment, before waving a hand.  “Do as you wish.”  He said, sounding petulant.  He gestured across the room to a changing screen, which had a night gown draped over the top of it.  “You will remain in here tonight, after that sleep where you want.”</p><p>She moved behind the changing screen, draping her dress over the top of it and pulling the night gown down.  It looked like he'd merely called in one of hers, and it was short, almost indecently so.  She wished he'd just called in a chemise.  It would have covered more.</p><p>She stepped around the screen to find Jareth already in bed, laying on his stomach, his arms pillowing his head.  He didn't even give her a second glance as she climbed into bed.  It was probably a relief to him that he wasn't going to have pretend to be attracted to her.  No, duty sex was not an option.  Not for her.  Not with him.</p><p>She moved into the other side of the bed, getting in and rolling onto her other side.  She made sure there was a sufficient space between them, glancing towards the annoyed man close enough she could smell his spicy scent.  That scent was going to wreak havoc on her sleep, she just knew it.  Still, she closed her eyes and her exhaustion finally pulled her into it's grasp.</p><p>Jareth lay awake for a long time, beyond when he heard her breaths even, signaling sleep.  He'd botched it once again.  He rolled towards the woman who was driving him mad, pressing his face into her fragrant hair.  “Sarah...” he whispered, bringing his arm around her, hugging her into his chest.  The girl gave a mumble and he froze worried she'd wake.  After a long moment, she settled again and he sighed.  “Will ours always be so volatile a relationship?  Must you make me fear rejection so that I may not show you myself?”  He pressed his face into her shoulder, tasting the skin there.</p><p>The girl moaned softly, her head turning to expose more of her neck.</p><p>He fairly purred in satisfaction from the reaction.  He caught her earlobe between his teeth, laving it lightly with his tongue before letting it slide from his mouth.  “You can't resist me forever, precious one.”  He chuckled darkly at her incoherent mumble.  “Mark my words...”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter Six</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sarah's first though as she returned to the world of the living was that Jareth's bed was really damn comfortable.  It was warm, covered in silken sheets, and she felt as though she were being embraced by his smell.  There was a heavy weight, however, at her waist and she frowned in a petulant manner.</p><p>What the hell?</p><p>That weight tightened around her, and suddenly, she felt a body flush against her back and it was snuggling her.  Every alarm in her body went off in unison.  Her brain was screaming one thing, her heart another, her body yet another.  She was in complete conflict.</p><p>Slowly, she turned, glancing back at the man who was laying with his chest to her back and had one of his legs thrown over her own.  His face was relaxed in peaceful sleep, and he seemed to have not a care in the world.  She stared at him for a long moment, noticing the lines that usually caused him to look war torn and weary eased back, leaving him looking young and beautiful, almost heartbreakingly so.  “Jareth?”  She asked softly, her voice afraid to rise higher.</p><p>He didn't say anything, merely sighed softly, his face turning into her hair.</p><p>Her eyes wandered down his face to his neck, over his broad, bare shoulders, down his muscular back until she noticed that the sheet had come nearly completely off of him and was only just hiding his private bits.  She blushed, a tad miffed that he seemed content to use her as a teddy bear.  Still...</p><p>She lay back down, brushing her hair behind her ear and sighing heavily.  She wasn't going to be able to escape to her room any time soon.  He had her well and truly pinned against him, and waking him to have him release her would only cause her and him embarrassment, inevitably leading to an argument with her new husband.</p><p>Truth be told she didn't want to fight with him.  And having his arm around her like this felt good, felt right.  She rested her cheek on her hand, her upset slowly dying.  Yes, this was something she'd dreamed of for more than a decade.  To wake up next to the man that caused her equal parts emotional anguish and warmth.  How could a man disappear for thirteen years and still manage to hold her attention?</p><p>It must be part of his magic.</p><p>A small smile turned up her lips and she sighed, deciding it was alright for now.  He looked so peaceful, and really, it didn't feel bad.  It felt wonderful.  Like she was truly loved by the man who held her.  What did it matter if she had a few more hours of sleep?</p><p>She fell asleep rather quickly, never noticing Jareth's eyes were open and he had a victorious smile on his lips.</p><p>0o0o0o0o0o0o0</p><p>Days passed, and each morning, Sarah found herself waking to the feeling of an arm tight around her waist and a leg tossed over hers.  It was a possessive hold he kept on her in his sleep.  Every morning, she had the very same reaction.  She'd freak out a little bit at the feeling of the Goblin King wrapped around her like she was a favorite teddy bear, finally giving into the fact that she genuinely enjoyed the feeling, then would drift to sleep once more.</p><p>When she woke once again, she'd find herself alone in the room.</p><p>No doubt, after he woke, he was quick to extract his limbs from around her.  She did not speak about it with anyone.  She wasn't entirely certain that if she did speak about it that she'd be able to maintain her calm, collected mask, which she'd been wearing since the wedding.  She would never admit it to anyone, but waking up alone after finding his arms around her earlier felt like rejection.  Every night, she told herself that the next morning she'd extract herself from that warm embrace, but looking down at his peacefully sleeping face stole her will.</p><p>So she'd fallen into a trap that she couldn't escape.</p><p>Worse yet, it seemed he was deliberately avoiding her.  He hadn't been at dinner in nearly a week, whenever they were in the same room, he'd find reasons to leave it shortly after she entered.  It was maddening, the feeling of loneliness she felt.  However was she supposed to maintain this facade that everything was fine, that there was nothing but harmony in the relationship, if every time they were in the same room, he fled her presence.</p><p>Finally, more than two weeks after their wedding, she decided it was time to have a word with her esteemed husband.</p><p>It wasn't difficult to find him.  She'd learned several spells since she'd arrived, one of which was a locater spell.  It had come in handy several times since she'd moved into the queen's chambers, finding various things which had been 'misplaced' by the goblins.  Now, it had led her unerringly to the castle library, where she could hear hushed voices from within.</p><p>She considered knocking for a moment, but firmed her spine.  Dammit, she was the queen, and if he had a problem with her entering a public room unannounced, she could bloody well tell him she didn't hear him in there.  Lifting her hand, she pushed the door open and walked in.</p><p>“But sire, there are rumors-”</p><p>“I care naught for rumors Bec.  You find out who is-”  His eyes lifted and found her and his voice cut off abruptly.  “You find out who is responsible and report back to me.  Quietly.”  He snarled in a lowered voice, and then dismissed the goblin he spoke to.</p><p>She kept her gaze steady on his own as the goblin scrambled past her.  “There is a problem?”  She asked quietly.  She could not lie that she'd felt a swell of concern at the insistence in the man's voice.</p><p>“Nothing of great importance.”</p><p>He was lying.  She could tell he was lying without needing any form of empathy at all.  His eyes shifted away from her, and his jaw set, telling her he did not intend to tell her what was going on.</p><p>She dug deep within herself, searching for patience.  “Jareth,” she began, noting the way his eyes flared to life when she spoke his name.  “I...I know I'm new at this, and you've more experience, but if you could just tell me what is going on?  I do not like being left in the dark.”</p><p>His gaze turned startlingly cool.  He was actually looking at her in disdain.  It pricked every angry nerve that ran through her and her body stiffened against the urge to run away.  “You question me?  I've told you is not important.  Were it, you would be informed.”  His voice had a distinct sneer to it which caused that sensation of loneliness to grow sharper.</p><p>She glanced away, taking a deep breath and blinking rapidly to push back the tears she felt gathering.  She'd be damned if she was going to cry in front of him.  That was not going to happen.  “I see.”  She forced her head high and looked back at him.  “Very well, I will take your word for it.”  She stepped towards him, pleased to see a wary edge enter his gaze.  “Besides that, I've come to inform you that I intend to begin sleeping in my own chambers.”  She kept her own voice as cool as his.</p><p>Temper flared in his gaze.  “I beg your pardon?”</p><p>She looked at him unwavering.  “Your bed, though large, tends to grow cramped.  I believe I will sleep better in my own.  Besides, it has been two weeks since the wedding.  Your precious illusion has been maintained.  You gain nothing by keeping me in your bed.”</p><p>Something dangerous, frightening flashed in his gaze.  Then, moments later, it died, leaving that cold indifference she hated so.  “Perhaps you are right.  You may remove yourself to your own chambers.  It would give you the solitude to seek a lover if you so choose.”</p><p>The words stung.  She felt her hands curl into fists and she locked her jaw tightly shut to keep the words building up from tumbling out.  She refused, however, to lower her gaze from his own.  She wasn't certain how she managed to keep tears out of her eyes, but she could feel her nails biting into her own flesh.  Finally, she forced herself to speak.  “Whatever are you speaking of?”</p><p>“Since you don't wish to sleep with me, I can only assume you'd like to find someone else to warm your bed.  It might not be a bad idea, regardless.  Seeking separate lovers, I mean.”  He turned his back to her, moving away.  “It would have to wait until an heir has been conceived, however after that, if you wish to take a lover, that is fine with me.”  He paused for a moment, then glanced back at her.  “Was there something else, Sarah?”</p><p>Her lower lip trembled before she could stop it.  “No, your highness.”  She heard her voice waver slightly and wanted to curse.  Before he could say anything, she spun on her heal, slamming the door behind her.  She felt tears falling down her face before she made it to her room and hated him for making her cry again.  She hated herself for letting him make her cry.</p><p>She pushed her way into her room, slamming the doors behind her and bolting them.  Then, just for an added measure of security, dropped two different shields around it, one to mute sound, one to prevent unwanted entry from people who could poof around the palace at will.  She leaned her back against the door, her breaths sobbing out of her.  Her temper was spilling over, and letting just a bit of it out, she tilted her head back and screamed in rage.</p><p>How dare he?!  How dare he imply that she did not view her vows of fidelity as sacred?!  He, who did not even really know her, who made no effort to know her!  HA!  She moved through the room, pacing it like a caged animal.  Damn him, damn him.  She slammed her fist against the mirror above her vanity, not feeling the pain as the glass cut her hand.  Lifting her other hand, she used a quick spell to repair it only to slam her bleeding hand into the glass once again.</p><p>She repeated the motion until her fury gave way to despair.</p><p>So...this is what the Goblin King thought of her.  That she was merely some harlot who would lay with any man besides him.  That she didn't take things like marriage vows seriously.  Tears welled and fell down her face and a keening wail of misery left her throat.</p><p>0o0o0o0o0o0o0</p><p>Jareth slumped slightly as she slammed the door behind her.  Dammit.  It had not been his intention to make her cry.  He could not help the feeling of anger that had filled him at the knowledge that she did not wish to continue to share his bed.  He knew she enjoyed waking up at his side, to the feel of his arms around her.  Granted, she went tense upon waking, but slowly, she'd relax and even drift back to sleep.</p><p>Her first startle always woke him, followed by her twisting to look at him.  When she settled back down, he allowed himself to feel the victory over the small success.  She liked being in his arms, being held by him.  She often snuggled back into his chest.  So why did she wish to go to her own bed?!</p><p>These past evenings, and even mornings, though chaste, had been heaven.  Her scent on his sheets, his skin, her softness pressed intimately against him.  After she settled, he'd would indulge in pressing his nose against her hair, breathing that deliciously enticing fragrance for quite awhile before he forced himself to rise and dress, leaving her alone in his bed, wrapped in his silken sheets.</p><p>She looked so enticing laying there, that it took a great deal of willpower to leave her.  But leave he did.  He would eat a quiet breakfast as he always had, in his office, pondering what he should do about the awkward daily relationship with his bride.  They needed to speak about the frustrating feelings they were both undoubtedly feeling.  They needed to discuss the new relationship.</p><p>Unfortunately, before he could bring this up with her, Bec had come to him with troubling news from the city.  There were rumors that a few of the younger goblins, who'd only just come into manhood, were attempting to stage a coup.  Rumors that he was unsuited, having lost to the mortal girl and now having taken a mortal wife.  Tales of his weakness were running through the city like wildfire.</p><p>And now...</p><p>“I should not have said that to her...” he muttered, staring out over the land.  There was a pulse that felt distinctly like annoyance from beneath his feet and he sighed softly.  Unfortunately, her words had only brought his anger and worry into sharper relief.  She seemed to refuse to let him grow closer to her, her days were tied up with lessons on history, politics, and other things that she'd need to know as queen.</p><p>He'd scarcely seen her besides during evenings when she'd silently get ready for bed and tuck in beside him.  During those times, she'd rarely speak.  He'd not sent finger upon her since the wedding night and his libido was making him itchy.  He wanted her, dammit, but she was making it so blasted difficult.  She wasn't even a virgin, he thought with no small amount of bitterness.  She couldn't even be bothered to wait for him.</p><p>Then again, had someone 'slipped her a mickey', she would likely be even more wild-shy about sharing her body with him.  The knowledge that Gary had been the first man to have her caused a great deal of jealous rage that he was having difficulty dealing with.  Knowing that the man was decidedly not attracted to women did not help matters.  That man had been trusted enough to receive from her what her husband was being denied-</p><p>But really, what had he done to earn her continued presence in his bed?  Had he even tried to gain her trust enough that she'd wish to lay beside him as a lover, rather than an unwilling bride?</p><p>No.  At every turn, they'd been at each other's throats.  Which was, in all honesty, most of why he was, admittedly, avoiding her presence.  Every time they were together and not in public eye, one of them said something which sent the other into an inhuman sort of fury.  He drug a hand through his hair, wincing when a few strands came out.  He sighed softly.  He was molting...</p><p>His lips had only just begun to turn into a wry sort of grin when his door burst open and a furious teenager came striding in.  “What did you do?!”</p><p>Gary slipped in a moment later, closing the door behind him.  The man looked reserved and sad.</p><p>“What are you talking about, Toby?”  The urge to smile was gone.  Now, there was only the urge to gently rub his temples.</p><p>“I'm talking about Sarah, you prick.”  The boy spat, his face an equal mix of rage and fear.  “She's got herself sealed in that damn room, and no one can get in!”</p><p>Jareth gave an impatient sigh.  “Boy, you need to learn how to pick a damn lock.”  He pulled open his drawer, pulling out a small kit wrapped in fabric.  “Well, then, come along.  Let's go see why the queen has got herself locked away...”</p><p>“I know why she locked herself into her room.”  Gary said with quiet reserve.  “I saw her go in.  She...I've never seen her look like she felt so wretched.  Jareth...what did you say to her?”</p><p>Jareth pinned the man with a look.  He was under no obligation to tell this man what was said between them.  “What makes you think I said anything at all?”</p><p>“Because in all the time that I've known her, only two people could make her cry like that.  Toby and you.  Maybe you spent thirteen years not able to move a muscle, but she is not the crying sort.  She rarely sheds a tear.  She didn't even cry when Karen and Robert died.  Just took it as it came, kept her chin up, forced herself to be strong for Toby.  The only time she's ever cried was when someone found just the right button and pressed it with all their might.”</p><p>The Goblin King sagged slightly under the knowledge.  “I will not tell either of you the details.  It is between the queen and I.  Come along.  She has likely had enough time to simmer down a bit and would welcome your company.”  He moved out of the library, and down the hall, hearing footsteps on the stone behind him.  Upon reaching the room, he felt a powerful repelling charm upon it, and saw several concerned goblins outside her door, looking at it in a despondent manner.  As he approached, they looked up at him.</p><p>“Queenie locked us out...”  They mumbled in discontent.</p><p>“The queen is very upset right now.”  Jareth said calmly.  “Out of my way if you please.”</p><p>There was an irritated pulse from the Labyrinth and Jareth heard Toby suck in a breath as well.  Ah, so it would appear the Labyrinth was making it's displeasure known to third parties...He knelt, pulling out his lock pick kit and pulled out a few pieces, unlatching the door easily.  However, he could not wipe away that repelling charm, nor could he teleport into the room.  He sighed ruefully, removing the muffling charm.  Perhaps she'd hear her brother and friend and take it upon herself to open the damn door.</p><p>0o0o0o0o0o0o0</p><p>Sarah knelt on the floor, tears still rolling down her face as she came to a rather difficult conclusion.</p><p>She should never have married him.  She should have moved out into the Labyrinth, made peace with the structure, seen if there was another way, any other way, to keep both worlds safe.  Anything, even being without her brother and friend, would have been worth not living with this cold man who did not even feel the faintest warmth towards her.</p><p>This man, a man who she'd spent thirteen years fantasizing about, elevating to the status of a god, was nothing more than a bitter man.</p><p>Her tears fell on her bleeding hand and she hissed in upset, noting for the first time how badly her hand hurt.  She could hear fists pounding on her door, her brother and Gary calling out to her.  Sniffling awkwardly, she moved towards a bowl of water she used to bathe her face every morning, cleaning her face off, then taking the damp rag, she wrapped it tightly around her hand, then gasped sharply in pain.</p><p>Waving her hand, she let the shield drop and the door burst open almost immediately.  Toby bore down on her, followed by Gary, and she saw Jareth in the doorway, putting away what looked like a lock-pick kit.  After the initial glance, she returned her gaze to her brother, who had gripped her shoulders tightly.</p><p>“What's wrong?”</p><p>She gave her most convincing smile.  “It's nothing, Toby,” she lied, deciding that there was no point in causing more problems in the family.  Toby already had a strong enough dislike for the man who'd become her husband.  She didn't need to add to it by mentioning that the man thought she was a promiscuous whore.  She patted his hand, flinching slightly when she realized it was with the hand she'd used on her mirror.</p><p>“Sarah, you're bleeding!”  Gary gripped her hand, peeling back the already pink cloth she'd wrapped 'round her fist.  “Oh, darling, what happened?!”</p><p>She looked calmly down at her bleeding hand.  “Oh.  It's worse than I thought it was.”  She was in shock.  Somehow, she knew that.  A gloved hand moved into her vision and took hers, turning it left and right.  She didn't speak as he did so.  Her jaw set firmly and she resisted the urge to snatch her hand away from him.  Her eyes did not lift to his face, her heart still heavy under the words he'd spoken to her.</p><p>“This must be properly cleaned and have a salve put on it to prevent infection.”  Jareth said, his voice betraying no emotion what-so-ever.  “Deddle,” he snapped, and a small, rotund goblin tottered forward.  “Go find a local healer that has some experience with changelings.”</p><p>She lifted her gaze slowly, finding his eyes resting on her cut, bleeding flesh.  One of his hands came to rest at the small of her back and he was leading her towards her bed and helping her sit upon the edge.  Once she was seated, his gaze flickered towards hers.  She saw upset and frustration in his eyes.</p><p>She lowered her gaze so she wouldn't have to see his fury.</p><p>She could vaguely hear Toby and Gary speaking to her, but her brain wasn't processing anything besides the feel of soft leather resting lightly around her wrist, holding her hand elevated.  She sank deep into herself, a protective measure from ages ago, back when she was a teenager, trying not to listen as she was told that she should do this or that.  Now, it served to hide her from the world, from her family, from her husband.</p><p>The healer came and left, and with him, Jareth went.  Gary and Toby remained at her side for awhile before they too, wandered off.  She focused on her bandaged hand, sighing softly.  Well, her little fit had done nothing at all, save prove her still the owner of an incredibly childish temper.  The only person she'd hurt was herself and her friends.</p><p>Jareth certainly didn't seem to care less about her physical state.</p><p>“Separate lovers...” she whispered, feeling despondent.  She lowered her head to her pillows, aching for the feeling of warm arms wrapped possessively around her, but she refused to allow herself to once again go to his room.  Instead, she pulled her blankets protectively around her and pressed her face into her pillow, taking the distance that she'd forced on him.</p><p>Somehow, she'd managed to only make herself feel even more lonely.</p><p>0o0o0o0o0o0o0</p><p>For the next several weeks, it was business as usual in the Goblin Kingdom.  Sarah maintained her presence in her own room during evenings, however, while they were in the public eye, she gave the perfect illusion of a woman at peace with her environment.</p><p>Everything was wrong.</p><p>It tore Jareth to pieces to watch her enter her room every evening, to walk into his own, stare around it at the empty bed, a bed which should have his wife in it.  Her scent had faded from the sheets, growing weaker every day, until finally, the goblins entered his room one day while he was gone and changed them, taking the last trace memory of her in his bed with them.</p><p>It troubled him that he could not bring himself to sleep in that massive bed alone. The delicious warmth of her had made the bed more bearable than he could have dreamed.  To wake up to the feeling of her in his arms was like a sweet fantasy, now turned into cold reality.  As time passed, it became painfully obvious that she did not love him.  And he, in his foolishness, his childishness, had taken those neutral feelings, which properly nourished might have become love, and stomped on them carelessly, sowing the seeds of hate in the woman he'd loved.</p><p>If he'd simply told her the truth-</p><p>No.  It had taken thirteen years and the Labyrinth showing up in her own world to bring her back.  There would have never been love for him within her regardless.  Now, Jareth sat in the small office adjoining his room, staring out over his lands, torn between anger and confusion.  He already knew that suggesting separate lovers was a mistake.  He'd just wanted to hurt her as she'd hurt him by leaving his bed.</p><p>And really, it wasn't as though she were having sex with him while in his bed, so to his own eyes, there was no reason for her to move, save a desire to take someone else into her bed.</p><p>So he'd lashed out at her, and now she wanted naught to do with him.  Gary's words before the wedding rang through his brain, words that said Sarah had always wanted to be a bride, had always wished to be married.  If she wanted to be married, why hadn't she married?  He still harbored that weak, floundering hope that she had wanted, longed for him, but that didn't seem really possible.  Her words, her very actions screamed otherwise.</p><p>Since then, he'd slept alone.  Sarah had not set foot into his room or bed, although he often wandered into hers at night, just to watch her as she slept, seemingly peacefully, one pillow pulled tightly to her chest, her long hair twisted into a tight braid.  She wore a chemise when she slept, socks over her feet, likely to keep them warm.  She continued to insist on wearing those horrid scrunchies around the end of her hair, or black rubber bands which disappeared into her hair.  Her lovely skin was always free of paints, he knew she preferred to wash the garbage off before she drifted into her dreams.</p><p>He would gently trace his fingers over her brows, which had begun to curve upwards at the outside edge, into her hairline.  Fine frown lines were growing around her mouth and between those brows, where once only laugh lines had been.</p><p>It was not the happiest knowledge for him, to know that he made her so miserable.</p><p>There was a pulse beneath his feet as he stood by the window, staring out across the Labyrinth.  The Labyrinth was confused, upset.  It knew well enough, he supposed, that it's masters were in a state of near-constant unhappiness.  He leaned his head against the stone, sighing softly.  “I have handled this situation poorly.”  He said quietly.  “Would that I knew what I must do to set it right.”</p><p>The Labyrinth 'helpfully' provided a rather explicit set of instructions which caused even the face of the Goblin King to turn red with a blush.  “I certainly hope you don't give those ideas to anyone else, especially the wayward queen.  She would not be able to face me for days and she can scarcely stand my presence as it is.”  He smiled ruefully.  “Would that any of that would work, pet, however...”  The smile fell away and he sighed, feeling miserable.  “She...does not want me.”</p><p>He glanced towards the door which led to the sitting room that separated their rooms, then towards the invitation on his desk.  It appeared to be obvious enough.  A party invitation, to celebrate their wedding and the undoubted coming of an heir.</p><p>If only it were so simple.  He knew, however, that it was anything but.  It was a test from the other powers in the Underground.  They were checking to see if all really was peaceful and tranquil in the Goblin Kingdom.  They would undoubtedly be watching for any weakness, a chink in their armor.</p><p>Jareth sighed softly, his lips turning down into a deep frown.  That girl was the biggest hole in his armor that existed in either world, only shortly followed by her petulant, angry younger brother.  Neither Williams child was particularly fond of him, and he supposed it was understandable.  He'd done little to endear himself to either of them.</p><p>A bright light caught his attention and he saw the sun peaking over the Labyrinth, beginning it's full ascent into the sky, he moved outside onto the broad balcony which embraced the suites of both the king and the queen.  He loved watching the sun rise over his kingdom.  It was lovely to watch the sky turn to fire with the purples and oranges.  As he watched, the door to his right opened and he glanced over as Sarah stepped out into the early dawn light.  She was wrapped in a lovely wine red dressing gown, which swept the tops of her obviously bare feet.</p><p>She was so beautiful it actually hurt to look upon her, yet he could not tear his eyes away.</p><p>Her feet carried her slowly over the cold stone, until her hands came to rest on the balustrade which prevented an untimely fall from the high balcony.  She watched the sun heralding the new day and he saw a tear slowly make it's way down her face.  Before he even realized he moved, he was at her side, his gloved hand taking the tear from her face.</p><p>Her eyes darted open in surprise and she moved away from him a step, as though startled to see him standing there.  “Ah...”  She lifted her hands, brushing the moisture from her cheeks.  “I didn't know you were up...”  She turned, obviously about to retreat to her own room and he reacted, gripping her wrist in a gentle, but unbreakable grip.</p><p>“You need not flee, Sarah.”  He said, feeling weary and war-torn.  He was so tired of battling the woman, but she seemed to only wish to fight against him.  It made their little plays in public hurt all the worse.  “In fact, I would ask you to stay.”</p><p>Her eyes were wary, but he supposed he had earned her wariness.  He'd been burning hot and cold in turn, likely leaving her uncertain how he would respond to anything.  However, for all her wariness, she did not pull away from him to flee.  She stepped once more to the railing, and rested her hands upon it, averting her eyes to watch the sunrise.</p><p>“There is only one better place in the kingdom to watch the sun rise than this balcony.”  He said quietly.  “And that would be the owlry.”  He glanced towards her, a wry smile upon his lips. The smile fell away when he saw the upset on her face.  He lowered his head, a sigh escaping him.  “We've received an invitation to a party in another kingdom.  On the surface it is merely to congratulate our union.”</p><p>She nodded slightly, glancing at him from the corner of her eyes.</p><p>“Beneath that glaze of congratulations, they're looking for a weakness.”  He said quietly.  “Any discord, any anger.”  He straightened, sighing heavily.  “We do not have to go if you do not wish, however it could be considered quite rude.  I can simply tell them you are unable to travel due to some manner of illness if you'd prefer.  Though they may simply suggest the ball take place here.”</p><p>As he'd spoken, she turned to face him fully.  “Would refusal be viewed as weakness?”  Her voice was quiet.</p><p>He glanced towards her, a rueful smile upon his lips.  “Yes, Sarah.  It is likely that they would view it as a weakness.”</p><p>Her face was serious, even serene.  “Then I suppose we'd better go.”</p><p>“Sarah,” he said softly.  “About what I said that day...”</p><p>“Yes, I suppose a ball would be a good opportunity for you to pick a lover.”  Her voice was equally as soft.</p><p>The words were like a knife in him.  He was actually caught off guard by the feeling.  His hand dropped, dead weight at his side.  “Yes, I suppose you are right.”  He said, his voice unintentionally cold.  She did not even look at him as he spoke.  His brow furrowed as his temper spiked.  “Perhaps you should take the opportunity to find one as well.”</p><p>He strode across the balcony and into his room, practically tearing off his own dressing robe, and digging through his wardrobe, seeking something to wear that was suited to his now quite dark mood.  </p><p>0o0o0o0o0o0o0</p><p>The ball had been like dying.  If it had not been for Toby and Gary's presence, she wasn't certain she would have made it through the night.  She and Jareth had shared a dance or two, followed by him dancing with every single other young woman there.  She'd forced herself to avert her gaze, refused to watch him openly flirting with his partners.</p><p>Dancing with Gary and her brother had helped distract her, and she received several offers to dance from other men at the party.  She'd dance with them, maintaining the expected distance between herself and her partner, even as they tried to entice her closer.  She did not meet their gazes, and answered their inquiries about her love life by telling them it was none of their business what she and her husband did behind closed doors.</p><p>It took too long to end.  By the time her husband finally came to retrieve her, she was at the end of her rope, her eyes blinking back tears.  Did everyone in the underground believe that the vows of marriage were nothing more than formality?  That it was perfectly acceptable, even encouraged that the parties involved seek lovers after those vows were made?</p><p>It disgusted her.</p><p>She did not object when he led her into his room, holding the door for her.  She didn't speak, simply changed behind the screen he provided, putting on her chemise, before climbing into the bed, putting as much space between herself and Jareth as was possible.</p><p>As she lay there, her tears welled and spilled forth, her hands clutching the blankets tightly.  To her credit, she didn't make a sound as she wept.  However, even as she'd lay there, tears pouring from her eyes, she felt the man beside her shift and suddenly, his arms were around her, one hand gently petting her hair back.  She could feel his face pressed into the back of her head, and he was whispering softly to her that everything would be fine.  Too bad he was lying to her.</p><p>Upon returning to the Goblin Kingdom, she packed a small bag with some food and clothing, changed into a traveling dress and sat in her room, waiting for the sun to set.  She'd done what she had to do.  She'd returned to the Underground, had married the Goblin King, becoming queen and providing the balance the Labyrinth required.</p><p>Now...just for awhile...she wanted to get away from everything.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter Seven</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The sun had barely risen when Sarah left the castle out of one of the secret passages leading into the still-dark Labyrinth.  The sky was a hazy purple, streaked with pink, but the light didn't hit the part that was in the shadow of the castle.  Not yet.</p><p>She walked without aim, just trying to get as far away from the castle and her husband as possible.  He'd seemed to be keeping an unusually close watch on her since that party, and this morning was the first time she'd had an opportunity to get away.  She could feel confusion and frustration from the stones beneath her feet, but couldn't bring herself to stop walking.</p><p>Somehow, she knew this was pointless.  She couldn't run from him, not when she wanted to be at his side.  Unfortunately, the man she wanted was the illusion she remembered from when she was fifteen, the man he'd pretended to be to fool her into losing her brother.  She was sick and tired.  Mostly tired.  He was constantly wavering between hot and cold, and it hurt.</p><p>Sometimes, she thought she caught a glimpse of the man she remembered.  His eyes would burn with passion and she'd feel that same curious tremble inside of her that left her knees weak, her heart trembling.  Those times, she wanted to meet that passion with her own, to just...</p><p>Well, to be honest, press him against a wall and have her way with him.</p><p>Her cheeks burned faintly with a soft blush.  There was a curious pulse beneath her feet and she sighed, lightly brushing her fingers along the wall near her.  “It's nothing...” she said softly, turning down a new path.  She stopped.  Stared up at the castle entrance and turned to find the wall behind her closed.</p><p>A huff of frustration left her and she moved to walk down yet another path.  “I just need a place...for myself, you know?  Some place where I can be away from the lies that make up my life here.”  She turned down yet another path and found herself staring up at the castle again, with the entrance behind her closed.</p><p>Frustration gripped her and she turned into another one.  She was more careful to keep the castle to her back as she walked.  A cold wind blew through the Labyrinth and she shivered, pulling her cloak tighter around herself.  It felt like winter was going to set in soon.  Which was funny.  She didn't know that there actually was a winter here.  The weather seemed to change to fit the moods of herself and the man who was her husband.</p><p>Perhaps it knew she was upset and was responding in kind.</p><p>“Is it too much to ask to have a place of my own?  To live away from the castle, away from...”  She couldn't bring herself to say his name.  It hurt to much.  “Really, what's the point in being there if he doesn't even want me there?”</p><p>She'd mused aloud, not really expecting an answer, when suddenly, thunder shook the land she stood upon and she blinked, spinning around and finding herself trapped in a square of stone.  What on earth?  She swallowed hard.  “Labyrinth, what are you doing?”</p><p>There was an annoyed grumble from beneath her feet and she got the picture of Jareth looking furious storming through the castle.  She sighed, plopping down on the ground and running her hands over the litchen.  “Well, might as well get comfortable while I wait...”</p><p>0o0o0o0o0o0o0</p><p>It was early morning when the first tremor of discontent woke him from his unsettled sleep.  Cold wind blew through his open window and he'd looked outside to find the sky overcast and threatening.  They'd returned from the ball the evening before and Sarah had been quiet and reserved, even with her friend and brother.  She'd retreated to her room, her face held in an expression of something he could only call heartbreak.  It had stopped him from going into his room for several moments, while he debated going to her.</p><p>He nearly had.  The same old argument that she wouldn't want him to comfort her nearly failed, much as it had the evening of the ball.  He'd been unable to stop himself from wrapping his arms around her trembling form, to murmur empty comforts into her ear.  His embrace had done nothing, save make her cry harder.</p><p>The memory of that had kept him from going to her.</p><p>So that morning, he lay in his bed, keeping well and truly bundled beneath the covers, trying to stay warm in the cold chill that bit through his room.  He knew something wasn't right.  The weather had been growing colder and colder, down right uncomfortable for one such as himself.  The cold was nearly fatal, and snow?  Bah.  When he was angry, he made it hot, so that his subjects would be uncomfortable.</p><p>This had to be from Sarah's discontent.</p><p>He sighed, staring out the window at the dark sky, wondering what to do about his wife's distress.  He was finally convincing himself that he had to get out of the warm bed, when his bedroom door burst open, revealing Toby and Gary.  Of course.  No one else in the Kingdom, Sarah aside, would dare burst into the bedroom of the Goblin King.</p><p>“Where's Sarah?!”</p><p>Jareth massaged his temples as the teen strode towards him.  He sat up, looking towards the young man who looked so furious.  “What are you talking about, Toby?”  He was so tired.  Tired of fighting with his wife.  Tired of the hatred in the eyes of his heir for something that wasn't really his fault.  Tired of seeing the growing concern and pity in the eyes of Sarah's scribe.</p><p>A hand restrained the adolescent, who was about to lunge towards him.  Gary looked at him, his lips in a faint frown.  “We were going to have breakfast with Sarah.  She looked blue yesterday, so...but she's gone.  No one knows where she is.”</p><p>He was out of his bed and pulling on a heavy robe before Gary finished speaking.  Without knocking, he pushed the door to his wayward wife's room open and walked in.  There were a few articles of clothing strewn about, personal effects she'd set out missing from their places.  Unhappiness twisted inside him, but he refused to let them see it.  “Someone will have seen,” he said calmly.  “Toby, go inquire to the kitchen staff, Gary go question the other servants...”  He paused, sending a question into the stones at his feet.  “No, never mind.  Just return to your rooms.  The Labyrinth has her contained...for now.”</p><p>“What do you mean 'for now'?”  Toby snapped.</p><p>He sighed, trying to be patient.  “What I mean is this:  I will go bring her back.  Just wait for now.  Once she has safely returned, I'll let you know.”  He pushed past them, into his room, pulling down some of his warmer clothing.  His heaviest cloak, a wool undershirt and linen over shirt.  Long underwear and wool breeches.  “That woman can make this place downright unlivable,” he grumbled as he dressed.</p><p>Before he left, he remembered to grab her heavy winter cloak, taking only a moment to feel hurt that she'd left all of the lovely clothing he'd given her.  All of her own clothing was gone.  He gripped the cape tightly in his hand and stormed from her room, frightening a goblin out of it's wits.  “Keep the others out of trouble,” the king of the goblins snarled in fury, even as he swept down the hall, down the stairs, and out of his castle, searching for his queen.</p><p>“Meet a girl, have a few kids, settle down,” he muttered mockingly.  “Who did my mother think she was kidding?!”</p><p>He moved unerringly through the maze, until he met with a high stone wall.  Gently he rested his hand upon it and it folded away, revealing Sarah sitting on the stones, a bag at her side, her expression tired and sad.  Goose flesh rose on her arm, the only sign that she was chilled.  “Sarah.”</p><p>He stepped through the opening, not hearing the wall repairing itself behind him as he moved towards her.  She looked up at him, her expression wary.  Something that he couldn't name flashed through her eyes moments before she averted her gaze.  “So you found me.  I knew you would when I wound up trapped here...”</p><p>“The Labyrinth is a rather spoiled child.  It does like to have it's way.”</p><p>“And to hell with the people it makes miserable in the process...”</p><p>Hurt lanced through him and he forced himself to look at her in cool disdain.  “Oh come now, Lady.  There are many who would give anything to be a queen rather than a commoner-”</p><p>“Well, I wish the stupid pile of bricks had chosen one of them.”</p><p>Her words jabbed at him harder still.  He ground his teeth together.  He walked towards her, wrapping the cloak around her carefully and fastening it around her neck.  “You ought be more careful leaving the castle, Sarah.  It would be most unfortunate if you met with your death out among these walls.”</p><p>He saw something flicker through her gaze once again, but he dare not attempt to read into what it meant.  “Come along, let's return.  Your brother and scribe are most worried about you-”</p><p>She pulled her hands from his.  Annoyance and anger filled him and he turned towards her slowly.  There was so much pain in those lovely green eyes, it actually hurt him to see it.  “What does it matter if I'm-”  Her voice hitched as she spoke, a sure sign that she was trying to not cry.  “Why should I go back?!  If the vows we made are nothing more than formality, what does it matter if I live there or out here among the stones?!  At least here I don't have to watch something that I've always held as sacred made a mockery of!”</p><p>He withdrew his hand, startled at her words.  “What the devil are you talking about?!”  He finally snapped, unable to take the deafening silence any longer.</p><p>A tear made it's way down her face.  “Maybe here speaking those words don't mean anything.  Heaven knows enough men were offering to warm my bed during the ball.  Maybe here they're just words.  But to me, they were more than just words.  One doesn't promise themselves to one person, even just for convenience, and then go and let anything with a penis into her bed!”</p><p>Tears were now rolling steadily down her face.  All he could do was stare at her in shock.  The folly of accusing her of trying to seek another lover, of suggesting that she do so, finally hit him square in the face.  She had been-</p><p>“Sarah...” he reached towards her, intending to brush those tears away.  Every time it had come up, ever time he'd tried to apologize, she'd mentioned he'd mentioned finding one of his own.  Betrayal.  That was what he'd seen in her eyes.  She viewed it as a betrayal.  Rather as he'd felt about her leaving his bed.  “If you didn't want to seek a different man to warm your bed, then why leave mine?”</p><p>She remained silent for so long, he thought she wasn't going to answer.  Finally, she spoke.  “I'd been going to be gentle about it, but...you made me so mad.  How am I supposed to be the queen when the king doesn't tell me anything?”  She lifted her gaze to him.  “I know...this isn't about love.  This was to keep the two worlds safe.  But that doesn't mean...it doesn't...” she trailed off.</p><p>“It doesn't mean you don't value the vows you made.”  He watched her nod and sighed, stepping forward and gently taking her hands.  “Sarah-”</p><p>“Don't make promises, Jareth.  I don't expect...I never...”  She took a steadying breath.  “I don't care if you decide to take one.  I was upset because you accused me of...”</p><p>He huffed, then nodded.  “Very well.  Let's return to the castle, regardless.  Your brother was truly worried for you.”  When she lowered her head, he couldn't stop the faint smile that turned up his lips.  “Is that acceptable?”</p><p>She lifted her gaze, startled, likely from the amusement in his voice.  She looked up at him for a moment then huffed, a faint smile on her lips.  “So this is what it feels like...” she said, her own eyes lit with mild amusement.</p><p>“What's that?”</p><p>“Having the air clear between us.”  She released one of his hands, he gave a bemused smile as she started tugging him towards one of the walls.  He expected it to open.  She did as well.  However, what was expected and what happened were quite different.  Both he and Sarah walked into the solid wall.</p><p>“What the devil?!”  He complained, casting his eyes about to see what exactly was going on.</p><p>There was an annoyed pulse beneath his feet and he swore viciously, holding Sarah steady as he looked around.  “Now is not the time to be stubborn, you sodding pile of stone,” he snapped in frustration.  A picture flashed in his mind, and Sarah must have seen it as well, fore she went deathly still.  His blood heated, and he swallowed hard.</p><p>Panicked green eyes lifted to his own and he couldn't help but feel bitter.  “Why isn't it letting us go back to the castle?!”</p><p>He didn't release her.  If he did, she wouldn't come anywhere near him for at least a decade.  “The Labyrinth is getting frustrated.  Our marriage isn't...binding until it has been consummated, and it knows...”</p><p>“It knows?!”  Her voice was more of a squeak than anything else.  Yes, her panic was rising far more quickly than he liked.  “How can it possibly know?!”</p><p>He stroked her hair, hoping the action would sooth her.  To his surprise, it worked.  Her body relaxed slightly against his own.  “You're the queen.  You have a psychic connection to the Labyrinth, just as I do.  Just as Toby does.”  He glanced around, his lips turned into a deep frown.</p><p>“Then it wants...It wants us to...here?!  NOW?!”</p><p>He sighed softly.  “It would certainly appear so.”</p><p>She started struggling and he swore, adjusting his hold to keep her against him.  “No!  I can't.  Please, Jareth, please...”  Her knees gave out and she sagged against him.  “Please, don't...”</p><p>He swore viciously, releasing her and letting her crumple to the ground.  He paced away from her, dragging a hand viciously through his hair.  “Stop begging.  Do you think that I would rape you?  That I would force you, simply because of the whims of our pet?  Don't be such a weak-willed fool, Sarah.”</p><p>She was silent for a long time and he turned, finding her eyes glassy with shock, with fear and panic.  It hurt to know that she feared him.  He attempted to transport himself back to the castle, only to find the Labyrinth fed off the magic he released, holding him well and truly captive.  He sighed heavily.  He could feel her eyes upon him and he wished that the timing on this could have been better.  Finally, for the first time since the wedding, they were finally in agreement, finally at peace with their situation, and the Labyrinth does something like this-</p><p>He paced towards her, his face furious.  “I know you don't trust me.  I know you don't, Sarah.  However, I've never broken a promise I've made to anyone and I'll make one to you now.  I will not seal our marriage vows until you are ready.  When you come to me.  Do you understand?”</p><p>He kept his voice harsh, knowing that if he didn't sound angry, he'd sound like he grieved the knowledge that she didn't, or perhaps couldn't, trust him.  Those green eyes lifted to him and he saw that fear still in them, but she nodded, and he was thankful.</p><p>He gripped her forearms, lifting her to her feet, then pressed her against the wall.  He searched her eyes for a long moment, then leaned towards her.  She went rigid and he resisted the urge to give her a punishing kiss as he had after they'd been declared man and wife.  Her hands went to his shoulders, and he could feel the token resistance she was giving.  He could crush her with his weight if he had to.  Still, if he was to gain her trust and eventually her love, he would have to earn it.</p><p>He slipped a hand to her neck, caressing the flesh there.  He watched her throat bob as she swallowed, saw her eyes close.  “I'm going to kiss you, Sarah,” he warned her.  He kept his voice quiet.  Slowly, he leaned forward, brushing his lips lightly over hers, trying to ignore his body's response to having her lips beneath his.  He felt her lips trembling and watched as her face twisted into an expression of pain.  The pain surprised him.  With a gentle hand, he stroked her hair back from her face and leaned closer, pinning her body to the wall with his own.</p><p>She was shaking.  He could feel her labored breaths rushing over his face.  Gently, he trailed his lips along her cheek, towards where her ear was.  “Just relax,” he implored softly.  “Play along.  I wont break my promise to you, Precious.”  He easily flipped the buttons on her shirt open, finding his mouth watering as he caught a glimpse of pink, butterfly lace resting against her pale skin.  He took a deep breath, her scent filling his nose.  “It will go just long enough to fool our pet into thinking we want privacy for the final act...”</p><p>He swept his lips down her neck, kissing her collarbone gently, opening his mouth and grazing his teeth against her flesh.  He got the faintest taste of her on his tongue and bit back a moan.</p><p>Her breathing had grown deeper and he felt her hands tighten on his shoulders, as though she were about to push him away.  Gently, he turned her, so that her chest was against the wall of the Labyrinth.  He slowly slipped his hands over her ribs, caressing feeling her flesh heat beneath his hands.  A ragged sob escaped her and he hated himself, even as he cupped her breasts through the fabric of the bra.  Keeping one hand around her, he used the other to free her from the contraption, his breath shuddering out of him as he felt her peak in his hand.</p><p>“You...promised...” she whispered.</p><p>“It's just...pretend,” he responded, keeping his lips near his ear, hating himself for lying to her.  Pretend, ha!  He was thanking the Labyrinth with considerable mental volume, for letting him have this chance to get close to his lady in such a manner.  The hand which freed her of her bra slid down her stomach and he felt her grow rigid.  “Relax, Sarah,” he whispered, begging her.</p><p>She did, just a bit, but tensed once again when he slipped his hand to play beneath the lace which covered her most intimate place.  He lightly ran his fingers through the hairs there, then curled them to cup her gently.  He swallowed hard, pressing his face into her shoulder.</p><p>She felt wonderful.  Soft, slick, hot.  He salivated, he coveted.  She whimpered softly as he slipped the tip of a single finger inside of her.  He nearly came undone right then and there.  Savagely, he snarled, lifting his face to the wall he held her against.  “I'll not have her here, you overgrown lump of rocks.  I'll have her in my bed.”</p><p>There was a hesitation, then Jareth felt the magic binding them release and he transported himself and his queen into her room.  Without the wall supporting her, her knees began to sag and he withdrew his hands, wrapping them gently around her waist, holding her upright.  He pressed his face against her shoulder, feeling her finally give up withholding her pain.  She crumpled and he went to the floor with her, cradling her in his arms.</p><p>Gently, he rocked her, stroking her hair.  “It's alright, Sarah...It'll be alright...”  At least he hoped it would.  He felt an impatient pulse beneath him and snarled viciously in another language, an old language, telling the Labyrinth to leave the queen to him.  Like a puppy smacked on the nose with a news paper, the maze retreated, leaving them alone.</p><p>He knew he should unwind himself from her.  He should let her go.  But he was having a great deal of trouble releasing her, and she didn't seem to be fighting too hard anymore.  “Would you...like me to get your brother?”  He wasn't certain how he managed to keep his tone so neutral.  If she agreed, he knew he'd be cursing at himself for days.</p><p>He heard her swallow.  He felt her jaw clench, move, as though she meant to answer, but no sound came from her lips.  He drew back, concern for the woman finally forcing him to move.  Gently, he caught her chin, easing her face up, looking down at her.  “Sarah?”</p><p>Tears on that beautiful face.  That face he loved so dearly.  The face that had tortured him for years, from when he'd first seen her.  Unable to stop himself, he leaned down, licking those tears away.  He felt her confusion, but merely let instinct guide him.  He cradled her to his chest, let the affection he felt so strongly pour out of him, to comfort her, to wipe the tears from her face.</p><p>“Jareth, please stop-”</p><p>He froze, rejection lancing him just as surely as it had all those years ago, when she'd rejected his proposal.  He unwound his arms from around her, set her away from him and stood, dusting off his pants.  The weather had grown colder still.  He kept his back to her, not wanting her to see the emotions pouring through him.</p><p>The sounds of her sobs broke his heart.  Still, if she would no allow him to comfort her-”I'll go find your brother.  I'm certain he is worried for you.”  He struggled to keep his voice neutral, and walked towards the door which separated their rooms.  He put enough temper into closing the door that it slammed shut.  </p><p>0o0o0o0o0o0o0</p><p>Sarah flinched as the door slammed shut.  Weak and weary, she climbed into her bed, curling up.  She heard the shirt she was wearing tear but didn't care.  Most of her clothing was old, hand-me-downs.  She knew it wouldn't last long.  Her body felt hot, her heart bruised, her knees weak.  She was chaos in living form.</p><p>Her hands shaking, she buttoned the fasteners on her shirt, her body still quivering in remembrance of the touch he'd inflicted on her.  He'd been unspeakably gentle, those leather-clad fingers gliding softly over her skin.  God help her, she still loved him.  The feel of his hands and lips upon her had driven her just shy of mad.  But, as he'd said, it was just pretend.  There was no emotion behind it, no heart.</p><p>Liar.</p><p>The voice of her heart spoke up, whispered softly to her.  Her mind was busily trying to rationalize what he'd done, how he'd treated her before, during and after the pseudo-seduction in the Labyrinth.  There was...something there.  She had no idea what that something might be, but it was there, none the less.</p><p>The door opened and Toby ran in, his face open, his eyes dark with worry and anger.  He stalked towards her, gripped her arms.  “Idiot!  What did you think you were doing?  I came here to see you this morning, and you're gone!  You didn't even leave a note!  What the hell-”</p><p>Sarah threw her arms around her brother's neck, pressing her face into his shoulder, finally letting out the heart-wrenching sobs that had been tearing at her since the wedding.  She momentarily let herself forget that she was an adult woman, and let herself cry out her grief and frustrations, clinging to the brother she'd wished away and reclaimed so long ago.  “I don't know what to do, Toby...” she whispered, clinging to him.</p><p>Two arms came up and awkwardly wrapped around her.  She felt his hand giving her that gentle pat that people always thought was so comforting.  It didn't provide her with any comfort.  It just made her cry harder, because she really wanted the comfort Jareth had been giving her before she'd sent him away.  Why did she keep pushing him away?</p><p>The answer was simple enough.  She didn't want to get too close.  He'd made it perfectly clear he didn't care for her like that, he had just used her to get her brother.  Every time he gave her any measure of comfort, her heart tore to pieces, because she knew it was obligatory affection, and she didn't want that.  Anything but that.</p><p>“Did that bastard hurt you again?”  Toby's voice was vicious in her ear, far angrier than she could remember him sounding.</p><p>Soundlessly, she shook her head, trying to find her voice.  “No, Toby.  No.  Jareth didn't...It's not his...”  She pulled back, gasping for breath.  “It's not him...it's me.”  She sat on the edge of her bed, tears still falling down her face.  “I just don't know what to do...”</p><p>“About what,” Toby asked quietly, sitting next to her.</p><p>She lifted her gaze, seeing the patience in the normally impulsive boy's eyes.  “I...you know how I feel about him, how I've felt since...”  Understanding in those eyes.  “I just don't know what to do...He...I...”  Her voice trailed off when she couldn't find the words to express herself.</p><p>“Well...”  Toby frowned.  “You could always try seducing him.”  Her jaw gaped as he stood and headed towards the door.  “If you keep doing nothing, nothing is all that's ever going to happen.  So do something.  Take the first step.  Maybe that's all you need to do to knock down that wall he's keeping up.”</p><p>She stared at him for a long moment, then chuckled.  “You're pretty smart.  For a brat.”</p><p>He glanced back, grinning at her.  “I only know because the Labyrinth tells me.  You two are both heavy on the denial.  Just relax a bit around him...you never know.  He might relax around you, too.”  He winked and disappeared out her door.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter Eight</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sarah tried to abide by her brother's suggestions, with the exception of the seduction.  She'd firmly decided it was far too soon for any such relationship with the man.  Perhaps if there was friendship or trust between them, but...</p><p>Things hadn't changed.</p><p>Month after month passed by, and Jareth continued to be cool and dispassionate with her, as he'd been since the day the Labyrinth had trapped them together.  He rarely showed any expression at all when he was around her, and whenever she seemed distraught, he would simply send for her brother or Gary, who would try to be helpful, but she found that her desire to escape the castle growing stronger day by day.  Scarce a day passed by when she wasn't seeking solace in either the castle gardens or in the Labyrinth itself.</p><p>It was saddening, accepting the knowledge that the Jareth from her childhood memories was nothing more than an illusion.  A childhood fantasy.  The romantic ideas of a foolish teenage girl.</p><p>Winter appeared to have settled over the Labyrinth.  It was bitterly cold, with frequent snow storms, which led most of the castle into following her brother and Gary outside to play in the lovely white powder.  Once or twice, she'd invited Jareth out for walks in the pristine beauty, but he'd declined each invitation.  He simply stated that he was busy.</p><p>This particular day was one such day.  She wandered the Labyrinth, trying to ignore the dull ache in her chest.  She was dressed in warm leather boots, lined with soft fur, wrapped in a heavy cloak that was part of her commissioned wardrobe.  A simple velvet dress of emerald green was all else she wore visibly.  The symbol of her station held the cloak closed over her heart.  Snow had started falling not long after she'd left the castle, dusting the tops of her head and shoulders.</p><p>She felt raw, scrubbed out.  It was something of a relief that Toby and Gary weren't with her presently.  They would just be bugging her about why she was upset, and she was tired of trying to explain herself.  She sighed softly, turning corners again and again, hoping that she might get lost in the sprawling maze.  Perhaps in a place that even Jareth didn't know of, or couldn't find.</p><p>A place just for her.</p><p>She smiled at the whimsy of the thought.  It would be nice, to have a place to get away to.  Jareth often escaped to his private study, a place he'd seen fit to send her out of and bar against entry on a frequent basis.  She had no such place, where the king couldn't find her.  It would be rather pleasant, she thought.</p><p>A place to confer with the Labyrinth, without the confused feelings that Jareth caused within her heart.</p><p>She rounded another corner and stopped, staring in surprise.  Tucked away in a little corner she'd never noticed before was a small stone cabin.  A whirl of smoke left the chimney, as thought the house were welcoming her.</p><p>She moved slowly forward, worried that someone owned the house, and she hesitated at the door, her hand poised to knock.</p><p>There was the sensation of the Labyrinth offering her a picture, and she saw her sitting in a comfortable looking rocking chair, doing whatever she wanted.  Her heart ached at the gesture.  She smiled, resting her hand against the stone of the cabin.  “A present that only you can give, isn't it...”</p><p>She moved within, finding the space was musty, as though it had been here for ages, just was unoccupied.  There was a small desk off to one side, a comfortable rocking chair near the fire, a table, even a cold box and stove.  She smiled happily, opening a small closet, finding cleaning supplies within.</p><p>Cheerfully, she threw open the single window and the door, letting the small cottage air out, sweeping the floor, setting the place up for herself.</p><p>Upon looking around further, she discovered a basket of needlework supplies, as well as paper, quills and ink in the desk.  A doorway led her to a bedroom, with attached bathroom.  It wasn't extravagant as her suite in the castle, but it was comfortable and private.  All around the bedroom were shelves upon shelves of books.</p><p>She smiled, perusing the books, deciding that she'd come back tomorrow and finish cleaning the rooms.  For now, she'd take some time to herself, to enjoy the little place that was strictly her own.  </p><p>She took the next several days setting up the cabin for herself, and once a week, would steal away from the castle for solace, finding it doing more to improve her temperament and mood than anything else.</p><p>0o0o0o0o0o0o0</p><p>Sarah was changing, Jareth had noticed, and wasn't certain it was a good thing or a bad thing.  She seemed to grow calmer, more relaxed in her skin, less tense and confrontational in his presence.  He wasn't quite certain what had wrought such changes in the woman, but he was grateful for them.  He found that with her relaxed around him, he was able to relax as well.</p><p>The weather was still bitterly cold outside, and Jareth finally resigned himself that Sarah had brought early winter to the Labyrinth.  Most of the castle's tenants were making the most of the situation, going out and building snow goblins, playing cheerfully for hours on end, only to pile in at mealtime, downing copious amounts of warm beverages, laughing and enjoying themselves.</p><p>Even Sarah had taken to disappearing from the castle and into the snow.  He found himself perplexed the first time, when she came up to his study where he was hard at work, asking him if he'd take a walk with her.  In the beginning, he assumed she was simply going to use his weakness to the cold to finally do away with him, one way or another.  However, eventually the invitations stopped coming and he realized that he'd let his distrust of the woman and his intense dislike of cold weather prevent him from doing something that might have saved whatever their relationship was.</p><p>Presently, he was sitting in his office, pouring over the work that kept his kingdom running smoothly, completely unaware of the late hour until his eyes started burning and he lifted them, finding that the only things illuminating the room were a few well-placed candles.</p><p>Leaning back, he pulled off his reading glasses, tossing them onto the top of the desk, sighing softly.  Outside, it was very dark and by the clock on the wall, it was well into the evening.  Sarah was likely already abed, dreaming whatever dreams she could to distract her from their dismal marriage.  He scrubbed his face and looked down at the correspondence.</p><p>It could wait.</p><p>He rose, only now realizing how exhausted he was.  Leaving the room, he wandered the halls, back towards the suites of himself and the queen.  He caught a glimpse of Toby in the kitchens, being spoiled by the cook with a rather large piece of cake and a steaming mug of what smelled like cocoa.  Gary he saw in the library, flipping through some large book.  Most of the castle goblins were passed out in the throne room.</p><p>He reached his suites and hesitated, then moved towards the entrance to his queen's.  Lightly, his fingers traced over the engraved wood, as he considered entering.  It wasn't as though he'd be able to get into that bed and take comfort from her presence.  If he was caught, she'd tear into him, and that was not something he particularly cared for.  “Alas, Sarah...it seems we'll spend eternity at each other's throats...”</p><p>He dropped his hand, preparing to move towards his own suite, but just as he stepped away from the door, an ear piercing scream reached him, and he was entering her rooms before he knew he'd moved.  He rushed towards her bed, finding her sitting upright, still screaming, eyes glazed.  She wasn't awake.  Her eyes were open, but she was still caught in her nightmare.</p><p>He crawled onto the bed, taking her hands in his.  “Sarah,” he called gently, trying to not frighten her worse.  “Sarah, precious, wake up!”</p><p>Slowly, the screams died down and her eyes focused upon him.  He heard footsteps rushing towards the room and waved a hand, sending the door closed, then put several shields around the room to prevent unwanted entry.  The last thing Sarah needed was a group of well-meaning idiots crowding her.  When he returned his eyes to her, he found tears standing in her eyes.  Her lower lip was trembling like crazy.</p><p>Before he could stop himself, he lifted a hand, cupping the side of her face.  His thumb chased over that quivering lip and he watched, amazed as they parted slightly.  “Sarah, are you alright?”</p><p>She collected herself for a moment, then nodded.  “Night...mare...” she conceded.  Her own fingers wrapped around his own, a motion that surprised him.  “I didn't mean to wake you...”</p><p>He chuckled faintly.  “I've not been sleeping.  I've been working.  There are piles of correspondence in the office that require a look over with a fine tooth comb.”  He saw comprehension in her eyes and let his hand fall from her face.  “Are you truly alright?  Those were some frightful screams.”</p><p>He saw a hint of color touch her face before she lowered it.  “It's just a recurring nightmare I've been having for a few years.”  Her words were light, as though she were trying to put him at ease.  “Everything...is dark, and I can't find my way.  It always feels like the darkness in the dream is trying to consume me...”  She gave a faint laugh.  “It probably doesn't make any sense.  Don't worry-”</p><p>“Sarah, as your husband, isn't that my duty?”  The words had left his lips before he could think to stop them.  He saw her eyes snap up to his face, wide with shock.  He wanted to curse himself for shooting off like that, but then, she gave a shy nod, lowering her face again.  Where was her backbone?  What had happened to the teen who'd defied him at every step?  She'd still been there at first.  Was it possible that her becoming the woman she had was his fault?</p><p>“Thank you, Jareth.”  Her voice was quiet.  “I feel better now, you can go-”</p><p>Just like that, she thought he would leave.  Well, then, perhaps he should challenge her.  Not fight with her, not beat her down as he had been.  Just challenge the defiant Sarah he remembered to come out and play.  “I think not, precious.  If this is a dream that you've been having for quite some time, you should pay heed.”</p><p>She looked away, as though chastened.  Her form was still trembling with fear.</p><p>“Do you really wish that I leave,” he lowered his voice a bit, meeting her gaze, trying to keep the emotion from his face and voice.</p><p>Those green eyes turned murky, and after a moment, she shook her head.  “I...I know I don't have the right to ask this...but could you hold me while I fall asleep?  I'm still scared.”  He knew how much such an admission took from her.  It would be too easy to crush her further.  This vulnerable Sarah.  However, he didn't want that.</p><p>He moved closer to her on the bed and saw her eyes spark with fear, but ignored it.  Gently, he guided her back to the mattress and slid beneath the covers at her side.  He slipped one arm around her shoulders, the other moved possessively around her waist.  He felt her grow rigid for a moment, before she relaxed and her hands curled into fists in his shirt.</p><p>A soft sigh met his ears and he released one of his own.  He would not admit it to her, but he had missed falling asleep with her in his arms.  He'd missed the feeling of waking with her at his side.  He pressed his face into her hair, closing his eyes as exhaustion swept him into the sweet embrace of sleep.</p><p>Funny how he didn't still spend an hour tossing and turning when he had this woman in his arms...</p><p>0o0o0o0o0o0o0</p><p>It was not the last evening that Sarah had such a dream.  Nor was it the last evening that Jareth found himself giving Sarah comfort after one.  The dreams were troublesome, but they were giving him a well appreciated opportunity to bond with his queen.  He astutely dodged both Toby and Gary's inquiries about it during the day, deciding to keep her momentary weakness between them.</p><p>As if he'd sacrifice being her strength even temporarily and let her brother or friend take over.  HAH.</p><p>He'd briefly tossed around the idea of offering his bed to her once again, but any allusions he made on the subject were astutely ignored.  He let it rest, deciding that she may feel less threatened because they were in her own room, rather than his massive suite.</p><p>He had taken to setting his work aside early more and more, to steal away from his desk and take a few hours with her in her own chambers, finding that between her new, more relaxed demeanor and the comfort she took in his embrace after the nightmares, things had almost calmed down between them.  That's not to say that they didn't have their fair share of arguments, but Jareth found the easily crushed Sarah that had been prevalent for awhile was fading, and the fierce, fiery, defiant Sarah was making a storming appearance.</p><p>It was both a relief and a source of frustration.</p><p>This particular evening, he'd retired from his office early, had set aside some time to spend with the woman.  He rather hoped that they might engage in some manner of discussion, as he'd found he loved learning the twists and turns that made of her intricate mind.  Oft, he found he likened it to the Labyrinth itself, it was so complex.</p><p>He entered her room, finding her already laying on the bed asleep.  He felt only a moments disappointment, considering leaving her to her rest.  Changing his mind, he moved towards her, climbing onto the bed and sitting beside her, watching her face as she slept.</p><p>There was a odd peace about her that he hadn't seen since she'd been here.  With great care, he reached down, brushing her hair away.  “Alas, precious thing.  What this place and I have done to you.  Would that I knew how to set it to rights.”  He leaned over, gently brushing a soft kiss against her lips, lingering just long enough to get a taste of her in his mouth.  “Sleep and have only sweet dreams, Sarah...”</p><p>With great reluctance, he left her side, wandering back to his own room.</p><p>After he was gone, Sarah's eyes popped open and her hand lifted, touching her lips carefully.  A small, shy smile turned up her lips and she glanced towards the door.  “You, too...” she murmured, then closed her eyes once more.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter Nine</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sarah took a deep, calming breath before looking towards the man who was pacing.  Toby sat, the very picture of an angry teenager, at her side, his arms crossed, a petulant expression on his face.  Jareth, on the other hand, was livid, his face pulled into a stern expression that she could remember her father wearing once or twice when she had stumbled through adolescence.</p><p>“Tobias, I can forgive you for dunking the fieries in the bog, heaven knows they're annoying enough that I've been tempted to.  I can overlook you playing in the kitchen and blowing up the spell I'd been working on.  I can even ignore the fact that I found you passed out with the goblins two weeks ago, reeking of goblin ale.”  The angry king spun on the boy, approaching him.  “This...however...”</p><p>“It wasn't on purpose or anything-”</p><p>“You were playing with fire magic in the hedge maze.  It took the naiads four hours to put the flames out, and the faerie queen is furious because you singed her favorite rhododendron.  On purpose or not-”</p><p>“Jareth-” Sarah interrupted, trying to pacify the man.</p><p>“You keep quiet!”  His voice was so vicious that she felt hurt blossom in her chest.  “I should have overseen your training myself,” he snapped, pacing and raging.  “This mistake will be fixed, believe that.  Go visit the head gardener.  You're going to be assisting in restoring the hedge maze under his supervision.  You're grounded from using magic for anything...” he scowled at the boy.  “That includes removal of facial hair-”</p><p>“Just 'cause you're pissy because my sister isn't giving you any-”</p><p>“Toby-” Sarah intruded once more, horrified that he'd speak of it like that.</p><p>“Doesn't give you the right to pretend that you're my father, you over-sized peacock!”</p><p>Jareth approached the boy, his face blank.  Sarah felt a shiver of fear, seeing his hand forming a crystal.  “Listen to me, you spoiled brat of a boy, and listen well:  I may not be your birth father, but until you're an adult, I'm the family patriarch.  You still answer to me-”</p><p>She moved quickly between them, lifting her hands.  “PAX!”  She cried, using a little magic to enhance her voice, making sure that they'd hear her.  She looked from one to the other.  “Family patriarch or not, sire, he's my brother.  You'd best watch how you speak to him.”  Then, she turned on the boy.  “As for you, young man...Jareth and I's sex life or lack their of is not fodder for arguments.”  She gripped his shoulders, shaking him.  “I taught you better than this.”</p><p>Toby growled something at her in goblin that she only had a vague understanding of, and her hands dropped from his shoulders.  She formed a crystal of her own and dropped it on the boy's head, giving him a one-way ticket to his very well sealed room.  She stood there, stunned that her own brother had said such a thing to her.</p><p>“That boy needs to learn how to respect his elders.”  Jareth snapped, pacing away from her.  “Not to mention how to take responsibility for his actions.”</p><p>“He's only seventeen, Jareth-”</p><p>“He's old enough to be treated like an adult.  He will be punished for his actions as though he were one-”</p><p>She turned towards him, glaring harshly.  “Can you?”  The man looked towards her, as though stunned by her line of attack.  “Can you take responsibility for actions you've done?  Do you claim that you never set fire to the hedge maze when you were a boy?”</p><p>“I did,” he said, his voice grim.  “Unfortunately, my sire was not there to administer punishment.  My nanny locked me in my room for two weeks on limited rations of food to teach me my lesson.”</p><p>She sighed softly.  “You have to realize that he's a teenager, he's angry, volatile, hot-tempered...and you're not his father.”  She saw him look away and moved towards him, resting her hand on his arm.  “He went too far, but he's just lashing out.”</p><p>“He hates me,” Jareth said coldly.  “He and I got along fine when he was a babe, so what did you teach him in the years after about me that makes him-”</p><p>Before she realized what she'd done, her hand cracked across his face, silencing him.  Tears stood in his eyes.  “Did you ever think that the reason he dislikes you is because you can scarcely speak to me without making me cry,” she snapped, furious with him.</p><p>She knew she'd hit the mark when he flinched.  She gave a watery laugh.  “You're so quick to tell Toby to grow up, but you're still a spoiled child yourself...and you bring out the worst in me.”  She backed away from him, shaking her head.  “Every time I think you're changing...you try to hurt me.  Well do your worst, Goblin King.  I'm not a little girl any more.  I'm not so foolish to be disillusioned by crystal ballrooms or frilly promises.  This...sham of a marriage is nothing more than a lie.”</p><p>She wrenched the ring from her finger and dropped it on his desk, seeing the startled look on his face.  “I'm leaving, Jareth.  Don't bother trying to find me.  I've my own secret place now.  And for a little while, I need to get away from you.”  She turned towards the door and walked out.</p><p>She moved through the castle, her hands shaking in her fury.  Once within her room, she changed into her warmest dress, grabbed her fur cloak, as well as a change of clothing, then stuffed her stockinged feet into the warm winter boots, then headed for the door.</p><p>Jareth was there, waiting for her.  “Sarah-”</p><p>She held up her hand.  “As I am, Jareth, this will just be an argument.  I'm rather tired of arguing so often.  I will return when I've calmed down.  For now, I need you to let me leave.”  She saw an exhausted expression upon his face and looked away, trying to forget the words they'd parted with in the Escher room.  “One week, Goblin King.  Toby will be grounded from his magic no more than one week.  You're the family patriarch, but I'm it's matriarch.  I figure that puts us on somewhat even footing.”  She pointed at him.  “He gets better food than limited rations.  He's a growing boy.”</p><p>Then, she swept down the hall, leaving the Goblin King standing there.</p><p>She pulled up the hood of the cloak as soon as she stepped into the flurry of snow, and moved unerringly through the nearly blinding white.  She knew the Labyrinth would lead her to her haven, that it would get her there safely.  She knew it wouldn't be long before Jareth attempted to follow her, and she knew equally well that he'd not be able to find her little cottage.</p><p>She didn't know what spells were wrapped around the structure, but no one save her could find it on their own.  Even walking past it with Toby it hadn't appeared for her.  She didn't really know it's purpose, but it was special, it was just for her.</p><p>She loved the peace of that little cottage.</p><p>Upon entering, she found a fire already cheerfully burning in the fireplace and she smiled.  “Thank you,” she said softly, resting her hand on the stone walls.  They practically purred under her touch and she moved around, pulling down a loaf of bread, cutting off a slice.  She found a small package of bacon in the cold box and fried it up easily, making herself a bacon sandwich.</p><p>She ate her modest meal, sitting in the rocker, a book in one hand.  She flipped pages, reading aloud to the structure, knowing that the communication was appreciated, even if it scarcely gave her obvious responses.</p><p>Finally, she grew weary and turned down the candles, moving into the bedroom, pulling back the warm covers and crawled beneath them, deciding to sleep for a little while.</p><p>0o0o0o0o0o0o0</p><p>It hadn't been long after Sarah had left that a blizzard spun up over the countryside, preventing Jareth from following his queen.  He was holed up in his own room, feeling worried and confused.  He also felt like an ass, to be honest.  Things had started looking up for him and his queen, when he went and stuffed his foot in his mouth once again.</p><p>Now it was almost two days later, with no sign of Sarah, not hide nor hair of the girl could be found.  She wasn't in the castle, not even her suites when night fell.  He had no idea whatsoever where she went when she needed to get away, didn't even know there was a place for her to get away to.  Every hour, his mind ran through all the things which could have happened to his queen, and he found that he often had to scratch them.</p><p>If there was a problem with his lady, the Labyrinth would let him know.</p><p>It did not ease his worry.</p><p>Finally, on the third day, he rushed through getting dressed, barely covering the necessities before heading out into the Labyrinth to find the wayward queen.  “Where is she pet?  Where is Sarah?”  He was startled by a strange sensation and Jareth realized that the structure had just razzed him.  He shivered in the cold, forcing himself to wander the structure, seeking her with his other senses.</p><p>Several times, he could have sworn he was only feet away from her, but he could never actually find her.</p><p>Finally, he felt his body succumb to the cold and collapsed into the snow.</p><p>0o0o0o0o0o0o0</p><p>Sarah had been holed away for days now.  She could have easily wandered through the snow back to the castle, but she found that she was afraid that there would still be an argument upon her return.  Every day, food was found, readily available to her, making need to return to the vast structure unnecessary.  She was a little ashamed to admit that she was hiding from the Goblin King.</p><p>However, a little while ago, the Labyrinth had grown troubled.</p><p>She could feel the thrum beneath her feet, even within her cottage.  She'd been reading when the first, almost electric, pulse shot up through her heals.  It had been going on now for several minutes.  With a sigh, she stood, moving towards the wall of the cabin and set her hand lightly upon it.  “What is it?  What's wrong?”</p><p>Those words send a flurry of emotion through her, and she could tell the maze was imploring her to do something.  Then, a picture flashed through her mind.</p><p>It startled her so badly, she staggered a bit, yet her hand seemed glued to that spot on the wall, refusing to let her break contact.  She winced, feeling the headache coming on already, but she had to decipher the picture.  When she did, her hand fell away and her breath whistled out of her.</p><p>Jareth, laying in the snow which had begun coating the Labyrinth after their latest altercation, his face flushed, his lips oddly, frighteningly, blue.  There was a heavy dusting of white powder on his body, and she could see his trembling.</p><p>Danger...</p><p>Danger...</p><p>Sarah cradled the now feverish flesh of her hand against her chest and troubled her lower lip between her teeth, biting it repeatedly and letting it slide between them.  She could remember all the times she'd asked Jareth to come out on a walk with her in the snow, thinking it would be a good way for them to bond a bit, and how he'd always claimed to be busy.  During those times, he was always in his office, a thick blanket on his lap, warmed brandy on his desk, a huge fire going.</p><p>It came upon her quite suddenly that Jareth didn't handle cold weather well.  Swearing viciously, she pulled her cloak around herself and hurried out the door.  She winced when the snow almost instantly soaked her thin silk slippers.  “If you want me to rescue him, you'd better give me a clear path,” she snapped at her disobedient pet.</p><p>It came as little surprise when a straight pathway opened up, leading – she presumed – straight to Jareth.  Without a second thought, she ran through the snow, ignoring the way the cold bit through those ineffective slippers.</p><p>It didn't take her long to find the frighteningly still body of the Goblin King.  She dropped to her knees beside him, finding his silken shirt soaked through from the snow.  Gently, she touched his skin, finding it icy.  “Jareth,” she whispered, giving his a gentle shake.</p><p>He shivered hard, coughing slightly.  Then, his brown eye opened part-way and peered up at her.  It didn't seem able to focus upon her, constantly roving.</p><p>She swore softly, removing her cloak and helping him into a sitting position, draping the warm fur around his back.  She put her back to his chest and pulled him onto her back, planning to piggy back the larger, heavy man to the nearest source of warmth.  Unfortunately, that was her cabin.</p><p>Giving the Goblin King a piggy-back ride was rather difficult, as he was larger than her, was too weak to hold any of his own weight, and so she had to hunch far forward.</p><p>By the time they reached the warmth of her little cottage, she was as soaked as he, and her back ached.  Once within the warmth, she set him carefully into the rocking chair before the fireplace and went to gather her bedding.  The wool would warm him up quickly.  Carefully, she removed the cloak from the man, then ripped her tiny, soaked silk slippers from her feet, letting both fall to the floor.</p><p>She moved towards Jareth, finding him slumped in the chair, still shivering violently.  Forcing herself to think like a medic instead of a woman, she peeled the silken shirt off of him, ignoring the shy, uncertain feeling as she watched his flawless skin revealed.  She tugged it over his head, thankful that he didn't object or fight her.  She cast the shirt aside and returned her gaze to him.</p><p>Once more, she found herself captivated by his lean body and those strong, willowy limbs.</p><p>Damn him for being so beautiful.</p><p>She took the thickest of the blankets, wrapping it around his shoulders before she knelt before him.  She missed the heat that flashed through his eyes at the motion.  Gently and with great care, she removed his fine leather boots, setting them beside the fire.  She was shocked to find that he wasn't wearing any socks.  Her face heated as her hands went to the laces holding up his breaches.  She found the wool soaked through and wondered how long he'd been wandering in the snow.</p><p>Her cheeks darkened as she untied those laces.  She glanced up at her charge, finding his eyes open, looking down at her, those eyes dark with some emotion she couldn't name.  Quickly, she lowered her gaze, once again reminding herself to think like a medic.  “Why were you out there,” she asked quietly, helping him stand and averting her gaze as the pants fell.  Once he was seated again, she put another of the warm blankets over his legs.</p><p>“Looking for the wayward queen,” he spoke with a voice as cold as the snow.  “I could ask you the same.”</p><p>She lowered her gaze, a shiver tearing through her as she recognized the chill of her own garments.  She wasn't about to tell the man that she'd been avoiding him.  She busied herself with the clothing, trying to ignore the feel of his eyes upon her.  “I come out here once a week to clear my head.  When the snow picked up, I thought it would be best if I remained here...”  Sighing, she retrieved her slippers, setting them with the clothing she'd spread out before the fire.  She sat on a little piece of ground near the fire, staring into the dancing flames.</p><p>“To what purpose?”</p><p>Rather than scorn or anger, there was genuine curiosity.  She glanced towards him.  “That's between me and the Labyrinth,” she said softly.  A shiver worked through her at the expression on his face and she forced herself to return her gaze to the fire.</p><p>“Sarah, are you cold?”</p><p>She jumped a bit at the sound of his voice.  “Only a bit,” she admitted.  “I handle weather like this well enough, usually.  I like the snow.”  It was true, she handled it well, when dressed properly.  She'd been decidedly not when she'd rushed off to find Jareth.</p><p>Leather clad hands touched the fasteners on the back of her dress and she stiffened.  “That's not necessary-”</p><p>“Liar,” he said, his voice cool, arrogant.  “You tended to me, the least I can do is return the favor.  You're going to get sick-”</p><p>She jerked away from him, holding her bodice up, unable to look at him.  “I only did it because the Labyrinth would be sad if you died,” she snapped, feeling shy and uncomfortable.  The feeling of his hands on her had caused her body to heat up and she took several deep, soothing breaths, trying to calm her racing heart.  “I'm find, I promise.  My dress is only a bit damp, really.  I would rather be a bit chilled at the moment, if you please-”</p><p>As she spoke, he stalked closer, and suddenly, his gloved hands slammed violently against the wall on either side of her shoulders.</p><p>She jumped, a squeak of fear leaving her lips as she looked up at the confusing creature who looked down at her.  His mis-matched eyes were dark in anger and something else.  The blankets she'd tucked around him had fallen from his body when he'd stood.</p><p>Sarah couldn't stop her eyes from raking up and down his body any more than she could stop the raging blush that was rapidly infusing her cheeks.  Strong shoulders and arms, broad chest, narrow waist, long muscular legs and...The blush darkened further as she lifted her stunned gaze to stare up at the face of the Goblin King.</p><p>“See something you like?”</p><p>The words mocked her aroused state and it was like ice water being dumped over her head.  Tears pierced her eyes and she forced her gaze away, refusing to let him see that she was hurt.  “Not particularly,” she said, proud that her voice was more calm than her heart.  That leather encased hand gripped her chin tightly, guiding her face back to his own.  To her shock, the coldness that had been prevalent so long in those eyes had given way to intense heat.</p><p>“Liar,” he declared.  His voice was no longer cold, instead, it was filled with the same heat as his eyes and her breath left her as he leaned down, kissing her with wild abandon, one hand bracing the wall, keeping the majority of his weight off of her, while the other held her head steady as his lips ravaged hers.</p><p>Sarah fisted her hands in the skirt of her gown to keep herself from winding them around his neck, from submitting to his kiss.  She waited patiently for him to pull away, but he didn't and she could feel herself growing dizzy from lack of air and the passion that he was stirring within her.</p><p>The floor beneath their feet thrummed softly, as if stating it's approval.</p><p>Sarah tried to turn away from Jareth's seeking lips, but they merely turned their attentions to her jaw, sweeping across it to her ear, where he caught the lobe between them, his tongue running lightly over the flesh.  She felt her knees begin to weaken and the arm that had been bracing against the wall wrapped around her waist, taking away that route of escape.  His other hand slipped around her back and found the tiny fasteners on the back of her dress, beginning to flip them open with ease.</p><p>Her hands left her skirt against her will, moving to the man's shoulders, her entire body feeling electrified – thrilled – at the feel of his smooth skin beneath them.  However, as much pleasure as she was feeling, a troubling through occurred to her.  “Jareth...you're burning up...do you have a fever?”</p><p>He pulled back from troubling her neck, where he was showering his kisses and stared at her, incredulously.  “What the devil are you talking about?”  He sounded so irritable, so stunned that she'd been able to say anything at all.</p><p>“Your skin...it's hot, feverish-”  As that word left her mouth, his hand found the last clasp holding her dress up and she gasped sharply as the sleeveless dress fell to the floor.  Self-consciousness and a fit of shyness overwhelmed her and she tried to turn in on herself.  Unfortunately, two hands pinned her wrists against the wall, leaving her unable to more than hang her head.</p><p>“Perhaps it is,” he agreed.  “I don't care about that right now...”  He gripped her chin once more with his leather-gloved hand, tilting it up so he could look down into her blushing face.  “I think I should silence that mouth of yours so you don't say anything else that's foolish...”  The musing was punctuated when he changed his grip and she was suddenly lifted off the floor.  He lay her down upon the soft rug before the fireplace, then pinned her wrists over her head.</p><p>Jareth was leaning over her, his hair teasing her collarbone, a predatory expression on his handsome face.</p><p>Her breath rushed out of her and she swallowed hard as he drifted closer, his lips lightly teasing over hers, as if to encourage her to come out and play with him.  His eyes never left hers as his other hand trailed up her side.</p><p>She bit back a moan as his head lowered completely, his lips sliding gently, yet possessively against hers.  He kissed her slowly and with great care, in a way she could almost call lovingly.  Unwittingly, she relaxed under the sensation.  His kiss was so artful, so deliberate, she found herself almost embarrassingly aware of how desperately out-classed she was.</p><p>The hand which was still caressing her side moved to cup her breast, still within it's leather trapping.  Her teeth drew blood when his fingers strummed lightly over her nipples and she couldn't stop her body from willingly arching into the man.</p><p>Her response must have surprised him, because he went still, then drew back, leaving her bereft and aching.  He stared down at her with those heated, glazed eyes for a long time before he spoke.  “Sarah,” he breathed softly.  He searched her face for what felt like forever.  “Say that you want me.”</p><p>It was a command, an order, but even so she found her hands lifting to his face, tugging him back down to her once again.  “I,” she hesitated for a moment, searching his eyes as well, very afraid.  “I want you, Jareth.”</p><p>That mask of cold indifference that he'd worn like a shroud for so long seemed to shatter like fragile glass around him.  He looked down at her with such intensity it shook her to her very core.  Suddenly, she felt like she was standing in that crystal ballroom all over again.  The man she was looking up at saw her and only her.  It almost frightened her to realize that the man leaning over her now was not Jareth, the Goblin King.  No, this was Jareth the man, and he wanted her.  Of that she was very certain.</p><p>Slowly, she ran her fingers across his face, stunned at the kaleidoscope of emotions she was seeing in his eyes.</p><p>Those eyes closed in response to her touch.  His hand slipped over her body once more, still within the confines of their leather gloves.  She moaned softly, one hand slipping into the hair at the base of his skull, tugging him down, gently.  “Please...” she begged.</p><p>He answered with a feral growl, leaning down, capturing her lips with wild abandon, in a kiss that seared her to her toes.  His lips were relentless, his hands never stilling long enough for her to grow accustomed to the sensation.  All she could do was cling to him, gasping into his mouth as he began to learn her most sensitive places.  One hand slipped to the apex of her thighs and she mewled weakly, arching into his touch.</p><p>Suddenly, he tore himself away from her, tearing a cry of upset from her lips.  Her eyes snapped open as she reached towards him.  Her hands grabbed his thighs as she lunged into an upright position.  She panted softly, staring up at him, bereft and confused.</p><p>His eyes searched her face, his breaths panting from him as he stared at her for another long moment.  “I want to feel you,” he said, his chest heaving from his ragged breaths, glistening in the glow cast by the fire.  “I want your skin under mine...I want my hands to memorize the feel of your skin...”  As she watched, he gripped the fingers of one glove, practically tearing it off his hand.  She gasped at the desperation in the movement and her hands flexed slightly.  He repeated the motion to the other glove, throwing them behind him, his eyes not leaving hers once during the whole thing.</p><p>“Jareth,” she whispered, her hands leaving his thighs as she reached for his hands, taking them in her own.  She felt herself shiver at the feel of his smooth hands in her own.  She traced the lines on his palms, then turned one in her grip, kissing his palm shyly.  She met his gaze, seeing the heat he'd hidden for so long.  Slowly, she moved his hands, letting his fingers run gently over her cheeks, her brows, through her hair.  She found she couldn't tear her gaze from his face as he did so.</p><p>His eyes traced the path of his hands as he let them wander, familiarizing himself with the tactile sensations that were his queen's skin and hair.  “Sarah,” he breathed.  He slipped his hands down her shoulders, caressing her lightly freckled skin.  “Precious, you're lovely.”  He pulled her to his chest, slipping his hands around her back and actually shuddering at the feel of her body against his.  Dipping his head, he captured her lips and gently lay back with her against the soft fur rug.</p><p>His hands began to wander over her again, this time without the gloves to block their skin's contact and Sarah cried out, arching into him, her hands spearing into his hair.  Without that leather separating them, she found his touch was infinitely more potent, his fingertips leaving a tingling trail in their wake.</p><p>He took advantage of her open mouth, deepening the kiss by slipping her his tongue and sliding it against her own.  One of his knee pressed between her legs and she threw her head back, gasping his name as his knee pressed firmly against her core.</p><p>He purred her name in response, his lips gliding down her neck.</p><p>Desperately, she clung to him as his lips swept across her collarbone, down over the swell of her breast, pausing just before he met with her hardened peaks.  She whimpered when his eyes met hers, his lips hovering over her heaving breasts, opening as his tongue reached out to flick over the sensitive bud.  She broke eye-contact, her head digging into the ground, arching into him, her teeth grinding together against the moan which caught in her throat.</p><p>The thigh which was causing that delightful pressure at the center of her pleasure shifted, and she felt his hand drifting down her stomach, lightly circling her belly button, before drifting farther down, briefly playing through the dark hair which guarded her best-kept secret.  Those fingers wandered the length and breadth of her mound before drifting lower.</p><p>A hiss escaped his lips upon touching her and she felt her blood race further at the sound.  She closed her eyes, her hands roaming over his back and shoulders, tangling in his hair.  </p><p>Here was heaven and hell, her greatest fantasy and darkest nightmare all rolled into one.</p><p>A shuddering breath left her as she felt his finger caress her most sensitive flesh, even as his other hand and mouth tortured her breasts.  “Jareth,” she begged, arching into him, wrapping her legs possessively around his own.</p><p>He growled deep in his throat, even as his mouth continued to pull on the flesh.  It sent a tingle through her body and she moaned softly, eyes closing tightly.  She felt him leave her breast and those wicked lips swept lower, across the plane of her stomach, over her navel, and she found she couldn't object as his hands pushed her legs apart.  He looked upon her for a long time, his lips curled into a faintly wicked smirk.  “I'd always wondered, you know?”  He leaned down, pressing a soft kiss upon her pubis, just above where her dark hair sprouted.</p><p>Her face flushed darkly at the intimacy of the gesture, even as his head rose once more, his heated gaze meeting with hers.  “Wondered...what?”  Her words were stopped when he suddenly, and without warning, slipped a finger fully inside her.</p><p>The motion caused them both to groan and she writhed, unable for a long moment to open her eyes.  When she did, she found his face was twisted in an expression of intense hunger.  “Jareth...I-”  She squeaked softly when she felt him turn his finger within her.  She closed her eyes, trying to calm her breaths.</p><p>“If those lovely freckles of yours were everywhere...”  She only had a moment to feel surprised before his mouth was kissing her in ways she'd only ever read about, caressing her and loving her there the same way he had at her breast.  Her reply caught and died in her throat, becoming nothing more than an unintelligible moan.  She wrapped her legs around his shoulders, trying to arch up into him, but his hands held her firmly to the ground.</p><p>She writhed beneath him, her fingers fisted into the fur beneath her, her head thrashing back and forth.  It seemed to last forever yet no time at all.  Finally, his gaze lifted and met her frustrated one and she felt him drag his teeth lightly over the sensitive bead of flesh.</p><p>Her body arched, head pressed hard into the floor as the room spun dizzily around her.  She felt his finger pumping her gently, even as she drifted down from the cloud of pleasure she'd rested on for a moment.  As she came to herself, she found Jareth leaning over her, his eyes still heated.  She felt him throb against her and she arched, rubbing herself against him, watching as his face twisted into an expression she could only call agony.  “Jareth...” she implored.</p><p>“Precious...” he responded back.</p><p>The endearment, often used to wound her, came out so tender and sweet, tears pierced her eyes.  She reached up, cupping his face between her hands, feeling shy and uncertain.  “We can...continue, right?”</p><p>His eyes sharpened, and she knew he was pleased with her request.  His lips broke into that familiar smirk that had haunted her for thirteen years and the man she remembered from her youth was looking down at her.  He didn't answer, simply adjusted his position, resting the tip against her entrance.  She took a shuddering breath, even as he began to press into her.</p><p>She gasped sharply, wincing in pain and pleasure as he slipped inside, filling her completely.  While she wasn't a virgin in the truest sense, it had been awhile, and she'd never had something quite this big inside her.</p><p>Once he slid in completely, he paused, his chest heaving from his breaths.  A drop of sweat fell from his chin between her breaths, soothing a path down her heated flesh.  His face was still twisted into that expression of pain, but he seemed to be trying to focus, concentrate.  In a moment of inspiration, she realized that he was worried he'd hurt her and was trying to restrain himself.  Gently, she cupped his face.  “You don't have to hold back,” she whispered.  “I trust you.”</p><p>His eyes flashed with so many emotions, she couldn't possibly decipher them all.  His hands tightened on her and he leaned over her, his lips close to her ear.  “Are you certain that is what you want, Sarah-mine,” he breathed softly against her ear.</p><p>She heard something similar to desperation in his voice.  She wrapped her arms around his back, holding him to herself.  “Right now?  More than anything,” she admitted softly.  She felt his hands flex slightly at her hips and he withdrew all of himself, save the tip.</p><p>“As my wife commands,” he hissed softly, then slammed into her, full force.  Her lips parted in a soundless cry as he caught her lips, kissing her with passionate disregard.  She met his kisses with as much passion as she could, refusing to be left behind.  His hands trailed over her, lightly skimming her flesh, gripping it, massaging it as he claimed her for himself.  One of those troublesome hands wandered down to where they were joined and he began lightly teasing the bead he'd kissed into submission earlier.</p><p>She arched into him, clinging and crying, willingly opening her mouth as he plundered her whole body thoroughly.  Finally, she felt that swell rising and she tore her lips away from his, pressing her forehead against his own.  “Jareth...Jareth,” she begged, wrapping her legs around his hips, meeting his thrusts, listening to his breaths rasp from his lips.  She dug her fingernails into his shoulder blades and arched into him as light exploded behind her vision.</p><p>She heard him utter a phrase in goblin that was both curse and caress and he throbbed inside her, any semblance of control officially destroyed.  He gripped her hips roughly, pulling her fully against him and he held her there for several long moments.  Then, he slumped forward, his weight on his elbows.  “Sarah,” he breathed against her cheek, his face hidden from view.  She felt his nose lightly caress her ear and suddenly, his arms wrapped securely around her and he rolled, bringing her above him.</p><p>She flushed darkly, grabbing the blanket from where it had fallen upon the floor and pulling it over them.  When she was again, settled over him, his arms wrapped around her, gently stroking her back.  Periodically, he gripped her flesh, as if he were still getting used to the feel of it.  She buried her face against his neck, where that wonderful smell radiated and sighed gustily.</p><p>His arms wrapped around her snuggly and she pulled back, looking down at his face, sensing there was something he wanted to say.  He smirked lazily up at her, one of his hands catching a strand of sweat-soaked hair and twirling it around his fingers.  “Sarah, would you care to rescind your you answer about if you saw something you liked?”</p><p>The tease caused her cheeks to heat and she hid her face against his neck once again.  “Not particularly,” she mumbled, snuggling deeper into his embrace.  A sound drew her attention and she found herself looking up once more, stunned.</p><p>Jareth, her husband – the Goblin King – had his head tilted back and was laughing.  Honestly laughing, his face alight with joy.  The motion caused the lines around his eyes and mouth to deepen, but smoothed those that cut across the rest of his face.  When his eyes opened again, they were shining with amusement.</p><p>Suddenly, he rolled them yet again, bringing her beneath him.  He stared down at her with those lovely, mirth-filled eyes, that arrogant smirk still on his lips.  “Liar,” he declared firmly.</p><p>She blushed, giving him a small smile.  “Maybe,” she conceded.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Chapter Ten</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The snow continued long into the night, and Jareth found Sarah different here.  This cabin allowed themselves to forget the kingdom, allowed themselves to forget the intentional hurts they'd inflicted upon one another.  Here, Sarah was quiet, but warm, strangely gentle and affectionate.  It was not the woman he'd married, not exactly, but it was the Sarah that was present around other people.  The anger and reserve she usually treated him with changed in this environment.</p><p>Now, she stood in the modest kitchen, making them a light meal to get them through the evening, the smell of bacon and eggs thick in the air.  She was dressed in nothing more than his shirt, but the roaring fire in the stone fireplace gave off plenty of heat, to prevent her from feeling chilled.  He sat upon a chair, watching her, wearing naught more than his wool breeches.  Her long dark hair was unbound, trailing well down her back, nearly to her knees.</p><p>He loved how she was here.  He felt a deep seeded regret that he'd have to return her to the castle as soon as he was able.  He watched her fuss with their meal, setting it on two plates with a few slices of hearty bread and sighed softly.  “Sarah,” he called gently.</p><p>She looked towards him and his heart stilled a bit at the way her eyes lit up.  She lowered those eyes quickly, lifting the two plates and setting them on the table she'd moved closer to the fire.  “Yes?”  Her soft inquiry told him she feared where the conversation they were about to have was going to go.</p><p>He moved over, standing behind her, resting his bare hands on her arms.  “We have to return eventually, precious,” he warned softly.  “We can't stay here indefinitely.  The goblins need guidance, else they get into some rather serious trouble.”</p><p>She lowered her head, her face shielded by her hair.  Her hands trembled a bit as she poured some tea into the cups already set upon the table.  “I know.”  Her voice was thick with regret and he wondered what it was that worried her about returning to the real world.  Gently, he slid his hands along her arms, pressing his face into her shoulder.  One of her hands came up and clutched his tightly.</p><p>They remained like that for a long moment before he spoke again.  “We've had the air between us clear only once before, and shortly after our pet decided to make a mess of things.”  He kept his voice quiet, worried that he might frighten her.  “We must speak, Sarah.  We must speak of things that will open still-raw wounds and it is no longer optional.  For the sake of the kingdom as well as our own sanity, we must do this.”  He felt her grow tense with each word and gave a heavy sigh.  “Admittedly, I cannot continue being at war with you.  It is more exhausting that when I attempted to live up to your expectations-”</p><p>“Oh, yes, your 'generosity'-”</p><p>He scowled, pacing away from her, dragging a hand through his hair.  “Don't you turn this into a fight, Sarah.  I am quite serious.  Although, I suppose that is as good a place to start as any...”  He stopped, turning towards her.  Her back was still to him.  Those thin shoulders trembled just a bit.  “Sarah, I do not know what you want of me.  I don't know what more I can do to make you comfortable.  I've stopped pushing you to return to my bed, I give you all the space you should need.  I make sure you are kept comfortable...and you continue to run away-”</p><p>“Not here, Jareth,” she whispered, her voice cracking a bit.  “Don't taint what happened here with talk of the past or our...issues.”  Taint.  As though he violated their coupling by bringing up their past.  Didn't she see that as long as there were issues between them, things like what happened tonight would always be tainted?  “Can't it wait until we go home?”</p><p>Home.  That word sang in him, especially hearing it from her lips.  He closed his eyes, letting his head hang.  “Yes, it can wait...” he said softly, “but only if you promise me that we will speak of it, Sarah.”  When she opened her mouth to do so, he lifted a hand.  “I want you to remember, love, that a promise spoken in the Underground is not the same as when spoken Above.  You will be held to it.  There will be no retractions, no bending of the promise.  At our earliest opportunity, you and I will speak of our various problems and we will go about finding solutions to them.”</p><p>After a moment, she extended her hand.  “I swear it,” she said softly.  A skin to skin promise.  His eyes lifted and he looked at her face, somewhat surprised.  After a moment, he slipped his hand around hers, still a bit overwhelmed by the feeling of her flesh touching his.  Did she realize the trust he placed in her by removing his gloves, by touching her skin?  Of course she didn't.</p><p>Even at twenty eight, she didn't understand half the implications of what went on between them, just as she hadn't as a child...</p><p>His expression must have changed because a look of concern came across her features and one of her hands lifted to touch his face.  He held his breath, wondering if she'd actually touch him in a non-intimate setting.  That breath rushed from him when her warm fingertips touched his cheek lightly.  The sensation he felt was so strong it was nearly a physical pain.  He lifted his own hand, pressing hers firmly against his cheek, turning his face into it, pressing a ghost of a kiss to her palm.</p><p>His gaze lifted to meet hers, and he saw uncertainty in her gaze.  He easily slipped his arm around her waist, tugging her closer, watching those eyes widen in awareness.  Her cheeks quickly heated with a blush that he found endearing.  With a sigh, he released her.  “Come, precious, let's eat this repast you've made.”  He helped her into her chair, seeing her head lowered shyly.</p><p>He took the chair across from hers, watching her push her food around for a little while.  After a moment, he reached his hand forward, setting it upon hers.  He didn't speak, simply wrapped his hand around her own and began eating his own food.  He glanced up at her and watched her lift the first bite of food to her mouth and smirked faintly.  It did him some good to know that she did, in fact, want him.  At least on a purely physical level, and by god, if that was all he could get, he'd take it.</p><p>As they ate, he allowed his mind to wander, his thumb continuing to stroke the back of her hand.  When the food was gone, she pulled her hand away, collecting the dishes and putting them in the small sink.  He came up behind her, slipping his hands down to her own, joining them in the warm, sudsy water.  “When we return home, may I come to your bed,” he asked softly, feeling her tense slightly.</p><p>“Wh-why?”</p><p>He chuckled softly.  “Because, precious, I find that when holding you, I sleep easier.  You were never comfortable in my bed, so I would sleep in yours if it pleases you as well.”</p><p>She glanced back at him, her face shy.  “Oh...I thought-”</p><p>He arched an eyebrow, smiling wickedly.  “Well, yes, that came to mind as well.  However, I would not violate the little trust you put in me.”</p><p>Her head fell, her hair hiding her face from him.  “I...” she hesitated.  “I shouldn't talk about our past...I don't want that here, but...”  She lifted her face and he was surprised by the sheer amount of emotion on her face.  There was so much pain there it actually hurt him to see.  “You were so cold when I came back...for so long, you either burned hot or cold, and I'm...afraid that this is just another extreme.  How can I know that when I wake up tomorrow, you're not treating me like...”</p><p>When her head dropped again, he reached forward with his free hand, tilting her chin up.  “Like what, Sarah?”</p><p>“Like a whore...”  Her voice was tiny, frightened.  He could tell that she didn't want to ask, but somehow she needed to.  “You hated me for so long...”</p><p>He was slightly taken aback by her words, then realized that he'd done absolutely nothing in this marriage until very recently to prove otherwise.  His hand fell away from her face in his shock, and he released her, pacing away, troubled and – though he hated to admit it – afraid.  “Sarah, during your first visit here, do you remember what I said about what things seem to be?”</p><p>He heard her soft affirmative and turned towards her, finding her head hanging, her hair veiling her face.  He walked towards her, kneeling before her chair, taking her hands.  “I cannot say how I will behave tomorrow.  I am different, no...we are different here.  It is as though all the past hurts have been temporarily wiped away, and all that there can be is what is here and now.”  He watched her nod, seeing pain on her face.  He reached up, cupping the side of her face, stroking her cheek with his thumb.</p><p>“Jareth...I'm scared,” she admitted.</p><p>He nodded, understanding.  “To be blunt, love, so am I.  Here, we can be Sarah and Jareth, rather than champion and Goblin King.  Once we return...” he shrugged a bit, feeling helpless.  “I'm not able to see the future, Sarah.”  He gave a wry smirk.  “Would that I could, because then I would know what to say and do to keep this battle of wills at a minimum.  We have both...made a lot of mistakes.  However, you're right.  Those mistakes have no place here.  Let us keep what happened within your cabin something cherished.  And I do cherish it.”</p><p>Her eyes shimmered with tears and she threw her arms around his neck, leaning her head atop his own.  He took a steadying breath and nuzzled her stomach through the soft linen of his shirt.  “Let us make an agreement,” he said softly.  “When we return, we will take time together, time like we have here, where there are no friends, no siblings, and for the love of god, no goblins.”</p><p>She gave a watery giggle, her hands moving over the back of his head with a tenderness that caused himself to do an inner happy dance.  “Alright.  Then this can be our special place.  No one can find us here.  When we come here, it will just be us...”</p><p>His hands gave her skin a gentle squeeze in parting, and he straightened, offering his hand to her.  “Come, Sarah.  We've eaten, now let us go rest together.  I'll admit I've not slept well with you away.”</p><p>She lowered her eyes, as though he'd chastised her, setting her hand upon his own.  “Yes,” she agreed softly.  “Yes.”</p><p>0o0o0o0o0o0o0</p><p>He woke the next morning to the sound of bacon sizzling in a pan, as well as himself being alone in the bed.  It oddly didn't bother him.  He climbed out of the bed as well, and moved towards the door that separated the two rooms.  Sarah stood over the stove yet again, quietly cooking, her hair pushed back over her ears, but still hanging rather precariously around her shoulders.</p><p>Before a thought had passed, he felt something in his hand and realized he'd created yet another hair ornament for her.  He hesitated for just a moment, pondering how to ask her to accept it.  Silently, he moved towards her, pulling her hair back neatly.  “Sarah, I want to give you a gift,” he said quietly.</p><p>She jumped a bit, looking towards him in curiosity.  “A...gift?”</p><p>He smiled bitingly.  “It's not a crystal,” he promised, holding his hand out.  Within his grasp was the small hair ornament, something that would hold her hair back.  He saw the warring emotions in her eyes and knew she was remembering when he'd changed her 'scrunchie' without permission.  “It's a gift.  Whether you use it is up to you, although...it would please me and it would keep your hair out of the fire...”</p><p>She returned her gaze back to the frying bacon, giving him a nearly imperceptible nod of acceptance.  He gently gathered the hair at the nape of her neck, slipping the ornament around it careful not to snag any of the strands.  “Thank you...”</p><p>His eyes snapped up to her back of her head at her soft words.  He could feel the faint trembling in her and closed his eyes, pressing his face into her shoulder.  “You are welcome.”</p><p>They ate their breakfast, got dressed as warmly as they could, and headed back to the castle.  Despite the bright sunlight outside, it was deceptively cold, and their was a layer of fresh snow on the ground.  Sarah lent Jareth her cloak again, although he only conceded defeat when she agreed to wrap up in a blanket for the trek back.  They'd been unable to relocate one of Jareth's gloves, and Jareth found that under the guise of keeping warm, he was able to walk very close to his queen.</p><p>Upon entering the castle, there was pandemonium, and in the middle of it all was a rather panicked looking Gary and Toby.  Jareth released her somewhat reluctantly, stepping forward as the Goblin King once more.  “QUIET!”  The command was issued with considerable volume, but it got the point across.  Silence immediately reigned in the castle, even the chickens afraid to cluck for fear of irritating the goblin's king.</p><p>He stalked forward, his gloveless hand hidden within the confines of Sarah's cloak as he removed it.  “What the devil is all that noise for?”</p><p>Toby moved forward.  “I went to find out if you'd seen Sarah, and you weren't there.  No one knew where you were, and the Labyrinth wasn't talking!  It's been unnervingly silent all day!”</p><p>Jareth clucked his tongue faintly, then heaved a sigh.  “If you all really must know, I went to find Sarah last eve and took ill from the cold.  Sarah remained at my side and...took care of me,” he said, keeping the story diplomatic enough that the goblins wouldn't understand that he'd taken an evening away from them, even though he truly could have returned with the queen the night before.  He'd needed the time with his lady, and he'd enjoyed every moment of it.</p><p>There was something queer – well, besides the obvious – that shone in Gary's eyes and the writer moved swiftly towards Sarah, whispering something in her ear that made her flush darkly.  Jareth would have bet good money that it was pertaining to the lovely glow she'd been wearing since he'd seen her that morning.  He glanced over the goblins, seeing some wearing rebellious expressions and saw Bec pacing a bit nervously.  He wanted to sag completely when he realized that he was going to again have to put on the regalia of the Goblin King and be as menacing as was needed.  “Now, I have correspondence waiting for a final look over, so if anyone needs me, I'll be in my office.”  He began moving towards the exit, then glanced back towards his queen.</p><p>She had her head lowered and the glow was fading already, crushed under the weight of what she thought was a loveless marriage.  He hesitated for a moment, when an idea came to mind.  “Well, Sarah?  Are you coming?”</p><p>Her head snapped up and there was surprise written upon her face.  After a moment, a smile turned up her lips and she moved sedately towards him, her outward calm making him smirk.  He extended his hand, pleased when she set hers upon it.  He ignored the speculative glances from Toby and Gary, choosing to instead lead his lady to his study.</p><p>0o0o0o0o0o0o0</p><p>For awhile, things seemed to get better.</p><p>Sarah never turned his company away in the evening, sometimes even seeking it out, herself.  Often, speaking would not be done, since one or the other would become embroiled in their personal work.  During those evenings, one or the other would simply curl up with a book in a chair within the same room, keeping silent company.</p><p>In Sarah's bedroom, nights would vary between intense passion or quiet affection, where Jareth would simply hold her, his face tucked into the crook of her neck.  Now Christmas holiday was rapidly approaching and Sarah found herself wandering the Goblin City in search of presents for those closest to her, wondering what manner of gift would be appropriate for her to give her husband at the celebration which would be held at the castle.</p><p>She'd been walking for quite some time when a smell wafted under her nose, turning her insides churning.  It was a struggle to call the magic to return herself to the castle and her chambers before bending over a basin and vomiting profusely into it.</p><p>That was the first sign that there was something wrong.</p><p>Over the next week, she found her appetite significantly diminished and she'd developed a severe aversion to several native Underground dishes and smells.  She could see Jareth's concern growing daily and he'd begun making subtle comments about her going to see a healer.</p><p>She refused, thinking it was just a stomach bug that would be over and dealt with soon enough.</p><p>Then her bladder went into overdrive, fatigue settled in far too easily, and her desire to participate in the nightly activities with her husband practically vanished.  Her temper seemed out of her control, and she felt as though she were simply a third party in her own body, watching it argue with her husband, her brother, even GARY.</p><p>Her holiday shopping had been completed, and she had wrapped and hidden the presents within her massive closet, and she sat upon the bed in her room, playing with a few scraps of ribbon that remained.</p><p>There was a quiet knock upon her door and she looked up to see Jareth enter, wearing some of his more casual garments.  Her heart did an odd little stumble that she refused to call 'skipping a beat', and she quickly looked back down at the ribbon she had in her fingers.  She heard the sound of his boots on the stone floors until he stepped onto the area rug that was beneath her bed and she saw him sit on the edge in her periphery.</p><p>He was quiet for a long time, until he finally sighed.  “Precious, we must talk.”</p><p>She heard the finality of his voice and cringed, not knowing where this conversation was going.  They'd danced around talking about the misunderstandings between them, hiding behind the veneer that everything was alright since they'd had sex at the cabin.  She was still terrified of the emotions she felt for the man and didn't know what emotions he held either.</p><p>“For the first time since you came back Underground,” Jareth began quietly, his hands supporting himself on the edge of the bed.  “Toby and myself are in agreement about something.”</p><p>She blinked in surprise, turning to look at him, baffled.  He straightened, turning to look at her as well.  She worried her lip, then gave him a faint smile.  “That's a good thing, isn't it?  You've been...upset that Toby wasn't fond of you...”</p><p>He sighed softly.  “It is, I suppose.  However, the thing we find ourselves agreeing upon involves you and your...odd behavior of late.”  He shifted so that he was closer to her, his hand sliding across her face in a gentle caress.  “We are worried about you.  Living at your side has become an emotional adventure to say the least.  One moment you burn hot as fire, the next you're cold as ice.  No one can fathom what is wrong.  Often, nothing appears to be wrong.  You scarcely eat anything at dinners, and...”  He looked away.  “I've heard you in the mornings, precious, when you think I'm sleeping.  You keep refusing to go see a healer, and you've got everyone nearly frantic with worry for you.  Even the goblins.”</p><p>Her lips turned up into a faint smile.  “I'm sure it's nothing-”</p><p>“Continuing to pass of what might well be a serious malady as nothing important is simply pissing on the concern of those around you,” the words came out harsh, upset.  Her eyes jumped wide in surprise and she found herself staring at the cross face of the Goblin King.</p><p>Hurt surged through her and she stood up, pacing away from him.  “What do you want me to say, Jareth?!  Most of the time I feel fine, I just don't see the point in going to a healer when it's probably just a stomach virus-”</p><p>“For the love of the Goblins, Sarah!”  He swore, dragging a hand through his hair almost violently.  “Do you want me to order you to go see a healer as your King, or request it as your husband?!  Which would make you understand that going is for our peace of mind?!”</p><p>She felt as though she'd been slapped.  There was a defeated slant to his shoulders and he didn't seem to be able to look at her.  He looked tired, no.  He looked exhausted.  She suddenly remembered standing in the Escher room and seeing him standing there, his face war-torn and weary, wearing that owl-feather cloak, looking so much like the romantic hero she'd held the belief that he wasn't the villain he'd played at first for years after their last encounter.</p><p>Tears pierced her eyes for no apparent reason and began falling down her face.  “Jareth, I...”</p><p>He must have heard the way her voice cracked as she tried to speak, because he spun, his eyes wide in shock and concern.  He was at her side before another word passed through her lips, his arms around her tightly.  “Don't cry, Sarah.  Don't cry...”  His hand gently smoothed her hair, his lips against the crown of her head.</p><p>She clung to his shirt, shaking slightly from her ragged breaths as she tried to get her sobs under control.  “I just don't know what's wrong with me lately...I feel like someone's thrown my emotions into a blender and hit frape...”</p><p>He gave a raw chuckle, gently caressing her hair.  “I can relate,” he said, then drew back.  “Sarah,” he began, “for the sake of peace among the household, please let me call a healer for you.  Everyone will sleep easier, and perhaps there is something that can be done.”  He paused, then gave her a wicked grin.  “Besides make-up sex.”</p><p>She blushed dark red and lightly bit her lips, watching how his eyes darkened with that hunger he'd shown in the cabin.  “Does agreeing to one necessarily negate the other?”  She inquired, watching as the expression of shocked pleasure covered his face.</p><p>A less nefarious smile turned up his lips and he leaned forward, lightly caressing her lips with his own.  “Of course not, my dear...of course not.”</p><p>0o0o0o0o0o0o0</p><p>Whispers in the shadows of taverns around the Goblin City.  Rumors of an uprising led by the race of dark elves – an rebellion against the King of the Goblins.</p><p>Hoggle sat in one such tavern, drinking his beer, worried, as always, for the girl-turned-woman who now resided in the Castle beyond the Goblin City as the Goblin Queen.  His thoughts were turned inward, but not so deeply inside that he didn't hear when a goblin spoke his name.</p><p>“Hoggle of the Bog...”</p><p>He snarled softly, turning.  Jareth's threat hadn't gone through for only one reason:  Thirteen years of inactivity followed by Sarah's return.  Still, as a measure of revenge, he'd named Hoggle Prince of the Land of Stench, even if the dwarf didn't have to reside there.  A larger goblin stood there, moving to sit beside him.  Hoggle couldn't place the creature, but recognized the outfit as one belonging to the local Shadow Society.</p><p>He didn't like the Shadow Society.  As far as he was concerned, they were nothing more than thugs and murderers, who'd sell their own family for a few coin.  He looked back into his beer.  “I'm Hoggle,” he acknowledged, hoping that in speaking to this creature, it would have the shadow bastard gone faster.</p><p>The creature sat at his side, ordering some Owl Wine, sipping it delicately, or as delicately as a goblin could.  “I understand you have a...grudge against the King of the Goblins...” the creature said quietly.  “In regards to that title of yours...”</p><p>“E'ryone knows there's no affection lost 'tween me and Jareth.”  He snapped.  He took another swill of liquid courage, hoping that it would sustain him.</p><p>“Would you...like a taste of revenge?”</p><p>Hoggle froze, glancing towards the creature.  This was new.  The goblins were usually so terrified of the Goblin King, they dare not speak of something like revenge.  “What 're you talkin' 'bout?”</p><p>The goblin looked at him, and Hoggle saw something that unnerved him in those eyes.  Something malicious.  Something...dangerous.  “I'm talking about an uprising.  You're prime candidate as a recruit.  Your hatred for the Goblin King, including your past betrayal of him.  The time has come, Hoggle.  We must overthrow the Goblin King, scourge the line he's trying to produce on that mortal witch that has him enthralled.  While he is distracted by her, we must strike-”</p><p>Hoggle felt exception to Sarah being called a 'witch' first and foremost and it was that which caused him to stand, ale sufficiently dulled his better sense and lack of courage.  “First and foremost, I betrayed the king to help a friend.  Second, I'm a coward, not some...patsy for your uprising.  I'll stick to what I know.  Groveling and gardening.”</p><p>He set some coin down on the table and headed towards the door.  He could hear himself being followed, so he took to the Labyrinth, disappearing into a secret passage he knew would lead him straight to the castle, and then inevitably, to Jareth.</p><p>He found the Goblin King in his study, thankfully alone.  Hoggle didn't bother knocking.  He rushed towards the desk, winded and, now that the adrenaline and alcohol had worn off, terrified.  His hands fell upon the surface with considerable force, and he took a long time, trying to catch his breath.</p><p>“Ah, Hogsnot.  To what do I owe the pleasure?”</p><p>The dwarf was too winded to reply.  In fact, it seemed to be growing more difficult to breath.  He met Jareth's gaze, finally realizing something was wrong.  “Uprising...Goblins going to...rebel...say you're bewitched...You...have to...protect her...”  He felt like he was going numb.  He saw shock flash through Jareth's eyes and then his strength finally abandoned him.</p><p>He collapsed to the ground.</p><p>0o0o0o0o0o0o0</p><p>Jareth immediately called for a healer, moving the dwarf easily to a spare room.  He did a cursory inspection of the dwarf's body and found a blow dark sticking out of the creature's rump.  He carefully withdrew it, setting it upon the bedside table.</p><p>Hoggle was pale, clammy, his breathing shallow and labored.  He rubbed a finger beneath his nose, pondering this.  The healer entered a short time later, his face serene, calm.  The man spotted Hoggle laying on the bed and sneered.  “What is wrong with the traitor?”</p><p>Jareth snarled at the man.  “This traitor is currently in possession of information vital to the kingdom.  Find out what he was poisoned with and save him, or your life is forfeit!”  He saw the surprise on the other man's face and ignored it, taking to pacing the length of the small room.</p><p>Something that the dwarf had been told had made the small gardener to rush here.  The only feelings between the two of them were antagonism and hatred, so that something could only have been pertaining to the one creature who bound them together.</p><p>Sarah.</p><p>He tapped his forefinger on his cheekbone, pondering.  Yes, she was the only thing that had ever given Hoggle enough courage to rebel against his king.  The only thing that had kept him from tossing the turncoat into the Bog of Stench and drowning him in it.  </p><p>The particular something that Hoggle had heard led the short creature to believe she might be in some form of danger.  He turned towards the healer, who was working as quickly as possible, and snapped at him, making the frail looking old man to jump in fright.  “Contact me when he is awake.  I am going to see to my queen.”</p><p>0o0o0o0o0o0o0</p><p>Sarah paced in her room, the door well locked against intrusion, her hands repeatedly stroking her stomach.  The ticking of the clock didn't help her nerves, it didn't help the shock and fear that settled over her like a shroud.</p><p>When had she lost track?  When had she stopped counting days, stopped keeping in mind that the mind-blowing sex she'd been having with the Goblin King wasn't 'safe'.  She couldn't even remember the last time she'd had a menstrual cycle, couldn't narrow down how far along she was.  </p><p>What she did know was this:  she wasn't ready.  Not mentally, not emotionally.  She also knew that she didn't have a whole lot of time to get ready.  Yes, this was just bleeding perfect.  Her relationship with Jareth was already complicated, so let's add a baby.  That should just iron out all the kinks, smooth everything out just right, right?  WRONG.</p><p>She heard a knock at her door and recognized the cadence, the rhythm as Jareth.  It was one of those funny things she'd noticed about him when they'd stopped avoiding each other like the plague.  He knocked to the tune of 'shave and a haircut'.  She'd also discovered that he wore glasses when he was reading, and tapped his cheek when deep in thought.</p><p>She wasn't certain she could face him right then, but the decision was taken from her when the door swung open and he moved quickly inside, a worrisome expression on his face.  She shivered, chafing her arms lightly.  “Sorry, I...was thinking...” she said quietly.</p><p>He watched her for a long moment, his eyes drifting over her for a long moment.  “Sarah, has anyone attempted to harm you in any way recently?”  His voice was quiet, his expression that cool one that told her that he was hiding his emotions from her.  “Is it possible that your illness might be the cause of-”</p><p>“I know what's wrong with me, Jareth,” she heard the waver in her voice and her hands trembled a bit.  “It's not from poisoning or anything like that...”</p><p>He sagged a bit.  “Sarah, there is the possibility that you're in danger.”  He moved towards her, setting his hands upon her arms.  “Are you quite certain-”</p><p>She sighed in impatience.  This wasn't how she wanted to discuss this with him.  She wanted to tell him when something else wasn't riding him.  “Jareth, I'm not sick.”  She set her hands hesitantly on his waist, then slowly lifted her gaze to his own.  “I'm...pregnant.”</p><p>Jareth's eyes did this comical bugging action, as if that was the last thing he expected to hear out of her mouth.  His jaw hung loose just a bit.  It opened and shut for a few moments, then he finally took a deep breath, releasing it through his nose.  “Sarah, you've got an amazing knack for taking my world and turning it completely upside down, inside out, and making things that would otherwise be logical seem not so.  Did you just say you're pregnant?”</p><p>His stunned reaction drew a small smile to her lips.  “Yes.”</p><p>“You've spoken to a healer about this?”</p><p>She shook her head.  “Counted days.  Results of unsafe sex.”  She shrugged her shoulders, still nervous about his reaction.  To her surprise, rather than smiling, he looked perplexed.  “What is it?”</p><p>“Sarah, I've been taking contraceptives since the wedding.”  He must have seen the confusion on her face because he sighed.  “Are you sure-”</p><p>She punched him in the arm.  Considering her rapidly rising temper, she met with quite a bit of force.  Her husband, surprised, stumbled back.  “Of course I'm sure, you glitterfied git!  And if you say one thing about how it must not be yours, I swear I'll cut off your manly parts and make sure you never DO reproduce, because heaven knows it would do the future generation of women loads of good-”</p><p>That got his hackles up, and the argument spiraled nearly out of control.  “How am I supposed to know what you were doing locked away in your room before I touched you?!  And as for future offspring, perhaps it is you who should consider not producing any.  It would save the Underground males from constant headaches!”</p><p>She swung again, but this time he expected it, because he caught her wrist, hauling her against him.  “You self-centered, egotistical, mentally scrambled, ridiculously glittery-”</p><p>“Woman, if you hit me again, I'll cuff you!”</p><p>“You hit me, I'll go find one of those skillets I keep hidden away just for that day!”  Tears fell down her face, and she struggled against him, trying to break free.  When he refused, she sagged, those tears falling to the floor.  “You prick!  Just go ahead and call me a whore and be done with it!”</p><p>His grip shifted and slowly, his arms wrapped around her.  He held her as she shook and cried, clinging to him, because he was there and she needed to cry.  He stroked her hair and after a long moment, she heard him speak softly.  “I'm sorry,” he said quietly.  “I'm sorry, Sarah.  I didn't mean that.  There has to be an explanation, we'll figure this out.  I don't think you're...a woman of loose morals, darling.”</p><p>She clung to him, tears still falling down her face.  She pressed her face into his shirt, trying to steady her breathing.  Once it was under control, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, taking a long deep breath, which she released just as slowly.  “Jareth, sometimes I really hate you...”</p><p>He gave a raw chuckle, pulling back and looking down at her, affection lighting his eyes.  “Sarah, you're a terrible liar.”  His voice was light teasing.  Gently, he slipped one hand, cupping her face.  “I am happy, Sarah, about the babe.  Thank you.”</p><p>She didn't know what to say, but that was okay, because he was already leaning down, pressing an almost tender kiss to her lips.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This is as far as I ever got with this story. It was initially published back in 2009, hopefully some fresh eyes and fresh skills will push me to continue it.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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